Missing N400M, Major General Hakeem Otiki found guilty, ordered for his dismissal with dishonor

Molly Kilete, Abuja

The General Court Martial set up by the Army has tried Major General Hakeem Otiki and has found him guilty of stealing N400M.

The General Court Martial, headed by Lieutenant-General Lamidi Adeosun, found Otiki guilty on all the five counts charges filed against him.

The charges are for stealing N100 million and N160, respectively from the Nigerian army in count one and two.

Added to it was the disobedience to standing order under section 66 of the Armed Forces Act, on count there, four and five respectively.

The pronouncement is however subject to confirmation from the Army Council.

The Court which started at exactly 7:55 monday night and held at the army headquarters command officers Mess, Asokoro, pronounced the judgement at exactly 23:13 hours.

The GCM sentenced the former GOC to dismissal with disgrace and dishonor on count one, dismissal with disgrace on count two, reduction to the rank of brigadier General with two years seniority, severe reprimand on count four and two years loss of seniority on the rank of Major-General.

All the sentences are subject to approval by army council.

Otiki, an infantry officer was accused of stealing money allocated to the 8 Division Nigerian army Sokoto.

The said money which was supposed to be in the custody of the Finance Officer of the division was said to have been diverted by the senior officer who was also accused of engaging in private business other than the army job.

But the Defence counsel while appealing to the court for leniency on his client, said the accused had already returned the money which he was being charged for and that most of the projects he was accused of embarking on had been completed or are at various stages of completion

The Defence Council however, pleaded that the accused officer was due for retirement this year and that he is very sick and that his wife was down with cancer.

He said the officer lost his mother last July and is the bread winner of his family.

“For this reason we ask the court to temper justice with mercy,” he pleaded.

“By next month, which is July, the accused senior officer would have been in incarceration for almost one year. So we plead that your lordship look at the officer with compassion”. The Defence counsel pleaded with the court.