COURT ORDERS ARREST OF DIEZANI, CONVICTS TWO ELECTORAL COMMISSION STAFF OVER N362M ELECTION BRIBE

The Head of Media and Publicity of the anti-graft agency, Wilson Uwujaren in a statement said, the other defendants are Ibrahim Mohammed, the electoral officer in charge of Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa State and Sahabo Iya-Hamman, a retired Independent National Electoral Commission( INEC) staff and Adamawa State coordinator of West African Network of Election Observers (WANEO), during the 2015 Presidential election.

The statement said,count two of the charge read, “That you, Ibrahim Mohammed Umar, Sahabo Iya Hamman and Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke (now at large) sometime between March and May, 2015 at Yola, Adamawa State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, while being a public officer working with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and retired public servant and former Minister of Petroleum Resources (now at large) and in capacities, did corruptly procured monetary benefit of Three Hundred and Sixty-Two Million Naira, (N362,000,000.00) in favour of public officers and staff working with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Adamawa State, contrary to and punishable under Section 9 (1) (a) & (b) of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act,  2000.”

Penpushing further reports that, the spokesman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(INEC) said the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges, and that the court granted bail to the defendants in the sum of N10m each and two sureties in like sum..

‘After more than two years of trial in which the prosecution called several witnesses and tendered documents that were admitted in evidence, the Judge today convicted Ibrahim Mohammed and Sahabo Iya-Hamman, to 7 years imprisonment on each of the three count charges for receiving a bribe of N362 million from the former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke. The sentences are to run concurrently’, Uwujaren said.

Penpushing also reports that, the commission said in convicting the defendants, the Judge, Justice Nathan Musa held that he was satisfied by the testimonies of the 15 witnesses who appeared before the court and other material evidence tendered by the prosecution.

The statement added that, the judge  observed that though N362 million was received by the officials, they only shared five per cent of the money to other staff of the commission and could not account for the balance.