ICPC: Ex-health ministry official bags seven years in prison over N29.9m fraud

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured the conviction of a former Principal Stock Verifier at the Federal Ministry of Health, Williams Oluwole, who was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for issuing a false stock verification certificate that facilitated the payment of ₦29.9 million for pharmaceutical products that had not been supplied.

Oluwole was convicted on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, by Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, following his prosecution by the commission on a two-count charge bordering on knowingly furnishing false statements in the discharge of his official duties.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the ICPC said the former official issued a Stock Verification Certificate of Completion in favour of Mubaraq Pharmacy Limited in May 2015, falsely certifying that pharmaceutical products had been supplied when they had yet to arrive in Nigeria.

The commission said the certificate facilitated the payment of ₦29,996,120 to the company for the purported supply of 5,113 Ribavirin injections and 5,681 Globavirin tablets.

According to the ICPC, the prosecution established during the trial that the products covered by the certificate had not been supplied at the time Oluwole certified their receipt.

The false certification allegedly created the impression that the contractor had fulfilled its contractual obligations and was entitled to payment for the products.

The commission charged Oluwole in Count One of Charge No. CR/94/2017 with knowingly furnishing a false statement in his capacity as Principal Stock Verifier at the Federal Ministry of Health.

The offence was contrary to and punishable under Section 16 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

The second count concerned making a false statement to the then Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Linus Awute, contrary to Section 25(1)(a) of the same Act.

Delivering judgment, Justice Halilu found Oluwole guilty and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment on Count One.

The court also imposed a fine of ₦100,000 on him in respect of Count Two.

The judge further directed that the convict serve his prison sentence at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.

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The ICPC prosecuted the case through its counsel, N. J. Onwuka, who appeared alongside P. N. Emeka, while Abubakar Adamu represented the defendant.

The commission said the conviction underscored the criminal consequences of falsifying official records and certification documents in public procurement processes, particularly where such documents are used to facilitate payments for goods and services that have not been delivered.

It also highlighted the importance of accountability and transparency in the management of public resources.