The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday upheld the 10 year prison sentence imposed on former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
Recall that Mr Dariye was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over alleged diversion of public funds estimated at N1.162billion while in office.
Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the FCT High Court had sentenced Mr Dariye to 14 years in prison on June 12, 2018.
On November 16, 2018, a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Stephen Adah upheld Justice Banjoko’sthe judgement but commuted the 14 years jail term to 10 years.
Dissatisfied by the ruling, Mr Dariye appealed the judgement at the Supreme Court.
In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a five-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Mary Odili upheld Mr Dariye’s concurrent conviction on the offence of criminal breach of trust.
The apex court, however, quashed his conviction and sentence in relation to the offence of criminal misappropriation by the Court of Appeal.
