ICPC Secures Seven-Year Jail Term for Ex-Health Ministry Official Over ₦29.9m 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, for issuing a false 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 (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Abuja, after being prosecuted on a two-count charge bordering on knowingly furnishing false statements in the discharge of his official duties.
The former ministry official was accused of issuing a Stock Verification Certificate of Completion in May 2015, falsely certifying that pharmaceutical products supplied by Mubaraq Pharmacy Limited had been received when the items had yet to arrive in Nigeria.
During the trial, the prosecution established that Oluwole issued Stock Verification Certificate No. CA 0329, which facilitated the payment of ₦29,996,120 to the pharmaceutical company for the purported supply of 5,113 Ribavirin injections and 5,681 Globavirin tablets.
The court found that the products covered by the certificate had not been supplied when Oluwole certified their receipt, thereby creating the false impression that the company had fulfilled its contractual obligations and was entitled to payment.
In Count One of Charge No. CR/94/2017, the ICPC accused Oluwole of knowingly issuing the false certificate in his capacity as Principal Stock Verifier at the Federal Ministry of Health.
The offence was contrary to Section 16 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The second count concerned the making of 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.
The ICPC prosecuted the case through its counsel, N. J. Onwuka, who appeared alongside P. N. Emeka, while Oluwole was represented by Abubakar Adamu.
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 Count Two.
The judge further ordered that the convict serve his prison sentence at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
The conviction highlights the legal consequences of falsifying official documents in public procurement and the importance of accountability in the management of public funds.
