A High Court in the Adamawa State capital, Yola, has sentenced two men to 21 years each over N362 million allegedly given by former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke, to influence voting in the 2015 general elections.
The convicts, Ibrahim Mohammed and Sahabo Iya-Hamman were arraigned before the court by EFCC alongside Maduekwe(still at large), under the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
Delivering judgement on Thursday, Justice Nathan Musa said 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.
Musa said that although N362 million was received by the officials, they only shared five per cent of the money to other staff of the commission leaving the balance unaccounted for.
He, however, said that following plea by their counsel, they have been 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 (I-G), Mr Muhammad Adamu, to liaise with the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) to arrest the 3rd respondent (Maduekwe) so she can face her charges.