THE General Court Martial (GCM) of the Nigerian Army Tuesday found Lieutenant Colonel R. A Ahangba, with service number N9827, guilty on two count charges of fraudulently obtaining N150 million from the Bayelsa State government in 2011 and conduct prejudice to service discipline. Ahangba, who was also charged for disobedience to standing order, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the court martial, which concluded trial yesterday.
Delivering judgement at the end of its sitting in Lagos, President of the Court Martial, Brigadier General Edward Nze said the officer should return the sum of N150million to the Bayelsa State Government.
General Nze urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Military Police to ensure the money is recovered from the convicted officer and handed to the Bayelsa State Government.
However, Nze said the decision of the court was subject to confirmation by the Army headquarters, which is the convening authority, adding that the officer serving the sentence automatically means he is dismissed from the force.
He said: “As a rule, ex-convicts don’t serve in the armed forces and so if the superior authorities enforce the decision of the court, it automatically means that the officer has been dismissed.”
The convicted officer was arrested in 2012 following a letter from the late former National Security Adviser (NSA), General Andrew Azazi, which was directed to the Army headquarters stating that the officer impersonated him to obtain money from Bayelsa State Government.