Court Martial Finds Nigerian Air Force Officer Guilty, Orders N12.35Million Restitution To Fraud Victims But They Remain Unpaid | Sahara Reporters
Despite the guilty finding, the restitution order and the subsequent confirmation of the court martial’s findings and awards by the Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, Umaru says she is still waiting for her money.
A General Court Martial of the Nigerian Air Force has found Master Warrant Officer Isah Ribah guilty on the count arising from a complaint by Lagos-based graphics designer, Laraba Umaru, and ordered him to pay her ₦2.15 million in restitution, according to official military documents obtained by SaharaReporters.
Despite the guilty finding, the restitution order and the subsequent confirmation of the court martial’s findings and awards by the Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, Umaru says she is still waiting for her money.
She told SaharaReporters that after spending more than three years pursuing the case, she is now being asked to write another letter and send it to Abuja before anything can be done to implement the award.
The case dates back to February 2023 when Ribah, who was then the Chief Clerk at the 661 Nigerian Air Force Hospital, Ikeja, allegedly approached Umaru for ₦3 million.
Umaru said Ribah told her that his mother had been diagnosed with kidney failure and urgently needed a kidney transplant.
“He approached me and told me that his mother had been diagnosed with kidney failure and urgently needed a kidney transplant,” Umaru said.
According to her, Ribah asked her for ₦3 million, promising to refund the money within three days.
She said he also told her that he had an outstanding loan with the Nigerian Air Force Cooperative and would use the money to offset the loan before accessing another loan with which he would repay her.
Umaru said she initially told Ribah that she did not have the money and did not know anyone she could approach for such an amount.
At the time, she was selling popcorn around Ikeja and Computer Village while trying to establish her graphics design business.
However, because she trusted Ribah and believed the medical emergency was genuine, she eventually decided to help.
“I had money that I intended to use to expand my business, including buying a good laptop and setting up a better workspace,” she said.
“I decided to use the money to help him because I believed his mother’s condition was genuine.”
Umaru said Ribah showed her photographs which he presented as evidence of his mother’s illness.
She later alleged that the story about his mother’s kidney failure was not true.
On February 28, 2023, Umaru said she transferred ₦3 million to Ribah in three separate transactions of ₦1 million each.
The first transfer was made at approximately 1:29 p.m., the second at 1:31 p.m., and the third at about 1:35 p.m.
She said the money was not transferred from her own account because she wanted Ribah to understand that the money belonged to someone else and therefore needed to be returned promptly.
Ribah initially promised to refund the money within three days.
Umaru said the repayment period was later extended to about one week.
She said she called Ribah repeatedly but he did not respond, forcing her to go to his house to demand an explanation.
According to her, Ribah told her that he had used the money to clear his loan but had also lent some of it to another person.
“That was completely different from what we had originally agreed,” Umaru said.
After she began demanding her money, Umaru said Ribah started making small payments.
In March 2023, he allegedly sent her ₦300,000, describing it as interest from a person to whom he had lent money.
Then on April 26, Umaru said Ribah transferred ₦3,000, “claiming he intended to transfer ₦3 million”.
“When I contacted him, he said he had made a mistake because he was not wearing his glasses,” she said.
According to her, his wife told her that she was aware of the situation and that she was not the only person who had come to her concerning money allegedly owed by her husband.
“That was when I became seriously suspicious that something much bigger was happening,” Umaru said.
She said she subsequently discovered several other people who allegedly had financial complaints against Ribah.
“There were more than seven victims that I became aware of, including a woman who sells akara who told me that she had given him approximately ₦2 million,” she said.
Umaru said she began helping some of the alleged victims come together because many of them had lost hope and did not know what else to do.
She said there were further payments of ₦100,000 and ₦50,000 in cash.
By the end of 2023, Umaru said she had received approximately ₦850,000.
That outstanding ₦2.15 million would later become the amount specifically awarded to her by the General Court Martial.
Umaru said she reported the matter to the Nigerian Air Force in 2023 and provided evidence of the original ₦3 million transfer.
According to her, Ribah was also questioned and did not deny receiving the money.
“He acknowledged that he had given me approximately ₦850,000,” she said.
Umaru said the investigating officer explained that the money Ribah had described as “interest” would be treated as part of the money he owed her because she was not a money lender.
Umaru said Ribah continued working during this period and was eventually transferred from 661 Nigerian Air Force Hospital to Logistics Command, Lagos.
But in 2025, she said she went to Logistics Command to ask about the status of the case and was allegedly told that some military personnel were also involved in the broader matter and that, as a civilian, she should find another way to pursue her case.
“I was deeply disappointed because I had reported the matter through the Nigerian Air Force’s own process and had cooperated fully with the investigation,” she said.
By then, Umaru said the dispute had already caused serious damage to her business and finances.
“I am a graphics designer. I had planned to use the ₦3 million to buy a good laptop, improve my workspace and build my business,” she said.
“Instead, I spent money on legal assistance, transportation and repeated follow-ups.”
She said she initially hired a lawyer and paid more than ₦100,000 for assistance, but claimed that the lawyer’s involvement did not go beyond preparing a petition.
After years of waiting, Umaru travelled from Lagos to Abuja on May 29, 2025, in search of intervention.
She said she had no accommodation in Abuja and no relatives or friends with whom she could stay.
She eventually went to Brekete Family Radio and Television because she was looking for a platform through which she could seek help.
Umaru said she spent a significant period in Abuja trying to get attention for the case.
“At one point, I was staying in extremely poor conditions in an uncompleted structure where building materials were kept,” she said.
“I was struggling to feed myself and take care of myself while trying to pursue justice.”
She said she became sick during the period but continued trying to get help.
She eventually made a video and posted it online, appealing publicly for justice.
Umaru said she received insults, criticism and accusations from some people who did not know the full circumstances of the case.
Some people allegedly accused her of lying or trying to destroy Ribah’s reputation.
She later reached out to Nigerian Air Force Headquarters and eventually spoke with then Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa.
“I explained the steps I had taken, the reports I had made and the difficulties I had encountered,” she said.
According to Umaru, Musa intervened and connected her with AVM Ademuagun, then AOC Logistics Command.
She said she was informed that the Nigerian Air Force would conduct a General Court Martial to properly investigate the allegations and determine whether Ribah was guilty.
“I welcomed the process because I wanted justice for everyone involved, including the accused if the allegations against him were found to be false,” she said.
“I was confident in my evidence and therefore had no fear of the court martial.”
On August 27, 2025, Headquarters Logistics Command, Nigerian Air Force, issued an official letter inviting her to testify in the case of the Nigerian Air Force against NAF92/17284 Master Warrant Officer Isah Ribah.
The letter, signed by Flying Officer AS Abdulbaqi, Court’s Liaison Officer, described Umaru as a witness and “key witness” in the case.
She was asked to appear before the Logistics Command General Court Martial at the Aircraft Maintenance Depot’s Hall in Lagos on September 4, 2025.
Umaru said she complied, presented her evidence and testified.
The proceedings continued for several months amid a number of adjournments.
She said she continued attending the proceedings despite the delays.
Eventually, the General Court Martial concluded its proceedings.
The military court’s findings subsequently provided the clearest official development in Umaru’s long-running case.
A document titled “Promulgation of GCM Finding and Award” obtained by SaharaReporters shows that Ribah was tried on a 10-count charge.
Count Three, which directly concerns Umaru, was listed as “conduct to the prejudice of service discipline” under Section 103(1) of the Armed Forces Act.
It then awarded him severe reprimand and restitution of ₦2.15 million to Umaru.
The document states: “COUNT THREE… FINDING… GUILTY… AWARD… SEVERE REPRIMAND AND RESTITUTION OF THE SUM OF N2,150,000.00 TO MISS LABARA UMARU.”
The amount corresponds to the outstanding balance Umaru said remained after the approximately ₦850,000 she had already received.
The court martial also found Ribah guilty on a number of other counts involving other complainants.
On Count One, he was found guilty and ordered to pay ₦2.492 million to MWO Bako E.
On Count Two, he was found guilty and ordered to pay ₦2.6 million to Mr Ambrose Ogeh.
On Count Four, he was found guilty and ordered to pay ₦700,000 to Mr Obom Nsikakabasi.
On Count Five, he was found guilty and ordered to pay ₦1.66 million to MWO Sagbe Fubara (Rtd).
On Count Six, he was found guilty and ordered to pay ₦1.65 million to MWO Ojugbeli.
Count Seven, concerning an alleged civil offence of cheating, was withdrawn during trial.
On Count Eight, Ribah was found guilty of disobedience to standing orders and was reduced in rank from MWO to WO with four years’ seniority on the new rank.
On Count Nine, he was found guilty and ordered to pay ₦1.2 million to Mrs Halima Ibrahim.
However, the court found him not guilty on Count Ten and discharged and acquitted him on that count.
The document further states that upon review, Headquarters Nigerian Air Force confirmed the findings and awards on all counts.
For Umaru, the confirmation in July 2026 should have marked the end of a four-year battle.
After receiving information about the confirmed findings, she contacted AVM Ademuagun to ask how the ₦2.15 million restitution awarded to her would be implemented.
According to Umaru, she was initially told that Ribah had been dismissed from service and that she should pursue the money through a civil court.
She said she explained that the document she had received did not state that Ribah had been dismissed.
Rather, it stated that he was reduced in rank from MWO to WO with four years’ seniority on the new rank.
She was subsequently directed to contact the legal officer handling the case.
But instead of being given a payment date or clear explanation of when the restitution would be released, she said she was told to write another letter, copy relevant authorities and send it to Abuja for further action.
This has left Umaru asking what happens after a military court has concluded a case, entered a guilty finding and ordered restitution to a complainant.
“I have spent money on legal assistance, transportation and other expenses.”
She said she travelled to Abuja without proper accommodation, returned to Lagos to testify and waited through months of court proceedings.
“I provided evidence,” she said. “I testified. I waited for the confirmation.”
According to Umaru, the confirmation has now been issued, but the process remains incomplete from her perspective.
“The confirmation has now been issued, my count was found in my favour, and restitution of ₦2,150,000 was stated,” she said.
She said she is now financially exhausted and does not have the resources to continue travelling to Abuja to write letters and pursue follow-ups.
“I am currently in Lagos and financially exhausted. I do not have the money to keep travelling to Abuja and repeatedly spending money on letters and follow-ups,” she said.
Umaru said she has also incurred debts as a result of the years-long pursuit of the case.
“Some of them have lost hope. Some cannot speak for themselves. Some do not even know what further steps they are supposed to take.”
She said her request is not for the allegations to be decided afresh.