On February 7, 2020 a five-member panel of the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the conviction and the 12-year jail term handed a former Taraba State governor, Rev. Jolly Nyame by the Court of Appeal, Abuja. He was arraigned for stealing about N1.6 billion belonging to the state.
The Supreme Court’s panel, headed by Justice Mary Odili, dismissed Nyame’s appeal but varied the judgment of the lower court delivered on November 16, 2018. She set aside the aspect ordering Nyame to pay N100 million fine.
Justice Amina Augie, in the lead judgment, held that the jail term was sufficient.
On May 30, 2018 Justice Adebukola Banjoko (then of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory) found Nyame guilty on 27 out of the 41-counts in the charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Banjoko (now of the Court of Appeal) sentenced Nyame to 14 years for criminal breach of trust, 2 years for misappropriation, seven years for gratification and 5 years for obtaining valuable public properties without consideration.
Nyame appealed to the Court of Appeal, and in its judgment on November 16, 2018, a three-member panel upheld his conviction, but reduced the sentence to 12 years (five years, four years and one year and nine months).
The court added a fine of N100 million, a decision he later appealed to the Supreme Court.
In Dariye’s case, the Supreme Court on March 12, last year upheld his conviction and the 10-year imprisonment imposed on him by the Court of Appeal in relation to the offence of criminal breach of trust.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Mary Odili, upheld Dariye’s appeal in part, by quashing the one-year sentence imposed on him by the Court of Appeal in relation to the offence of criminal misappropriation.
Justice Ejembi Eko prepared the lead judgment, which was read on Friday by Justice Helen Ogunwumiju. Other members of the panel included Lawal Garba, Samuel Oseji and Tijani Abubakar.
The Supreme Court upheld Dariye’s concurrent conviction and sentence by the trial court and the Court of Appeal on the offence of criminal breach of trust.
It proceeded to quash his conviction and sentence in relation to the offence of criminal misappropriation.
Justice Banjoko had in a judgment delivered on June 12, 2018 convicted Dariye on 15 counts relating to the offences of criminal breach of trust and criminal misappropriation contained in the 23-count charge on which he was prosecuted by the Economic and Fiancial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was accused of stealing public funds estimated at N1.162 billion
Upon appeal, the Court of Appeal in Abuja, in a judgment on November 16, 2018 upheld the ex-Plateau State governor’s conviction by the trial court.
A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Stephen Adah, in upholding Dariye’s conviction, noted that the prosecution, led by Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), effectively proved its case of criminal breach of trust and criminal misappropriation against the ex-governor.
The appellate court however faulted the trial court for convicting Dariye on counts 12 and 23, which it said the prosecution did not prove.
It also faulted the trial court for imposing the maximum sentences on both offences of criminal breach of trust and criminal misappropriation.
The court proceeded to reduce the 14-year sentence for the offence of criminal breach of trust to 10 years, and reduced the two years sentence for criminal misappropriation to one year.
The sentences were to run concurrently.