The Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, the Imo capital, has affirmed the conviction and one-year jail term handed to a former Commissioner for Transport, Lasberry Okafor-Anyanwu, who served under the Rochas Okorocha-led administration.

In a unanimous decision delivered on July 30, 2025, Justice Mohammed Lawal-Abubakar holds that the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the former transport commissioner fraudulently acquired government property and used his office for personal gain. The court dismissed Anyanwu’s appeal as lacking in merit.

Okafor-Anyanwu was earlier convicted by the Imo State High Court on March 14, 2023, on a three-count charge bordering on fraudulent acquisition of property and abuse of office. Though acquitted on count one, he was found guilty on counts two, three, and four.

The court found that between 2015 and 2019, while serving first as Chairman of the Committee on Review of Imo Transport Company and later as Commissioner for Transport, he unlawfully secured a private interest in a management lease agreement involving Oma Oil & Industries Ltd, a company in which he was Chairman, Director, and sole signatory to the accounts.

According to the appellate court, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), through testimonies and documentary evidence, established that Lasberry diverted N180 million belonging to the Imo Transport Company into Oma Oil’s corporate account. Specifically, N100 million was transferred from the Imo State Microfinance Bank to Oma Oil in November 2017, followed by an additional N80 million transferred from the Ministry of Transport’s account in January 2018.

The appellate panel held that such actions constituted clear violations of Sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

The Court of Appeal’s decision reinforces the judgment of Justice K. A. Lewanya of the State High Court, which also ordered the permanent forfeiture of the N180 million to the Imo State Government. (Channels TV)