Supreme Court Upholds Nyame’s Conviction, Sets Aside All Fines

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the 12-year jail term imposed on former Taraba governor Jolly Nyame over N1.6bn corruption charge.
The apex court, however, set aside all fines imposed on the former governor by the appellate court.
Delivering Judgment, Justice Amina Augie held that the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold the conviction of Nyame was apt based on available evidence.
NAN reports that Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the FCT High Court had on May 30, 2018, convicted Nyame on a total of 27 out of the 41-count corruption charge instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The trial court had convicted the appellant to a 14- year jail term for offences bordering on criminal breach of trust, criminal misappropriation, and receiving gratification while serving as governor between 1999 and 2007.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court, the Appellant approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja seeking the setting aside of the judgment.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Court of Appeal on Nov.16, 218 went ahead based on evidence to reduce the 14-year jail term slammed on the appellant to a 12-year jail term.
Augie, who delivered the judgment written by Justice Mary Peter-Odili said the Court of Appeal had imposed fine without any prompting by either of the parties to the case and without hearing from the appellant.
“The lower court ought to have heard from the parties, especially, the appellant who appealed for the reduction of the sentence imposed by the trial court, before imposing those fines on him.
“This court affirms the guilt and conviction of the ex-governor by upholding the Court of Appeal’s reduction of the 14-year jail term pronounce on the appellant to 12 years.
“Allowing the appeal in its entirety is a tall order, but there is no question that the fines were a nullity,” she said.
Also on Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the Appeal Court’s judgement of July 14, 2017 in which Ngene Linus Chibuike was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to forfeit the sum of $2,506,998 (Two Million, Five Hundred and Six Thousand, Nine hundred and Ninety-Eight United States Dollars) to the Federal Government.
It would be recalled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC prosecuted the convict on a one-count charge of falsely declaring the sum of $11,500 (Eleven Thousand, Five Hundred United States Dollars) instead of $2, 506, 998 (Two Million, Five Hundred and Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety-eight United States Dollars) to the officers of Nigerian Customs Service as required under the provision of Section 2(5) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012).
He pleaded not guilty to the charge, but the trial judge, Justice I.N Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos on February 9, 2016, found him guilty and sentenced him to two years imprisonment and ordered that the sum of $2,506,998, which he didn’t declare be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Not satisfied with the judgement, the convict approached the Court of Appeal for reprieve and lost, prompting him to yet again, approach the Supreme Court.
In a lead judgement delivered by Justice Musa Datijo Muhammed, the panel of justices in a unanimous decision upheld the submission of counsel for the EFCC, Ekele Iheanacho, that the appeal by convict lacked merit.
Chibuike was arrested on October 8, 2015 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, for not declaring the $2,506,998 in his possession and was subsequently handed over to the EFCC for prosecution.
Additional reports by NAN