•As court directs IGP to arrest Diezani to face her charges
Two officials of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have been sentenced to 21 years imprisonment each for receiving N362 million bribe from former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Diezani Alison-Maduekwe, during 2015 general election.
The convicts, Ibrahim Mohammed and Sahabo Iya-Hamman, were sentenced by a Yola High Court, presided over by Justice Nathan Musa on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two convicts were arraigned before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside Maduekwe (still on the run), under the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
Delivering judgment yesterday, Justice Musa averred that going by testimonies from 15 witnesses who appeared before the court and the suspects’ responses, it was clear that they were guilty of the offence.
The judge noted that although N362 million was received by the officials, they only shared five per cent of the money to other workers of the commission, leaving the balance unaccounted for.
He said following plea by their counsel, they were sentenced to seven years each on each of the three count charges, adding that the sentence will run concurrently.
The judge also urged Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muhammad Adamu to liaise with the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) to arrest the third respondent (Alison-Maduekwe) so she can face her charges.
