A former Commissioner for Transport in Imo State, Laz Anyanwu, was sentenced on Tuesday to three years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of fraud, looting public funds and theft by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The judgment was delivered by Judge K. A. Lewanya, who ordered that the jail term be served concurrently.
The court heard that Anyanwu, who served under ex‑governor Rochas Okorocha, diverted N180 million of state funds into a private company account in which he was a major shareholder and the sole signatory. At the time, he was both the Commissioner for Transport and the Chairman of the Interim Committee of the Ima
State Transport Company (ITC). This conduct violated sections 12 and 19 of the ICPC Act 2020, the Public Procurement Act, and amounted to an abuse of office for personal gain.
EFCC lawyer Michael Ani proved beyond reasonable doubt that, between 2015 and 2019, Anyanwu transferred N100 million from the ITC account to his private firm, Oma Oil Industries Limited. He also signed off an additional N80 million directly to his private account, claiming the funds were needed to procure vehicles for ITC without following due process under the Public Procurement Act. The judge concluded that the former commissioner had looted a total of N180 million intended for the state transport company.
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