Appeal Court upholds ex-Govs Nyame, Dariye conviction

…Reduces Nyame’s 14-year jail term to 12 years plus N495m fine
… Dariye to serve 10 years in prison instead of 14 years
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Friday partially upheld the convictions of former Governors of Taraba State, Reverend Jolly Nyame and his Plateau State counterpart, Chief Joshua Dariye, who are both currently serving a 14 years prison terms each.

The Court in a unanimous two separate judgments reduced Rev. Nyame’s 14 years jail term to 12 years and Dariye’s 14 years sentence to 10 years.

However, ex-Gov. Nyame whose initial conviction of 14 years by the trial Court was without fine, on Friday incurred an accumulative sum of N495 million as fines from 15 out of 41 counts charge on which he was found guilty.

Delivering judgment on the four grounds of appeal filed by Nyame, Justice Emmanuel Agim resolved the 11 issues raised by the appellant in favour of the respondent.

He said the charges which were brought under sections of the Criminal Code were specific on punishment that ought to be awarded to an offender. Some charges under which the appellant was found guilty carried a 14 years maximum sentence and additional fine.

He said, however, that the maximum 14 years jail term passed by the trial judge on Nyame was in error because the defendant was a time first offender.

He said the appellant should in addition to serving 12 years jail term on counts 1, 2 and 6 as well as pay N100m on each of the counts as fines. On count 8, the appellant will serve 12 years and a fine of N50m, On Counts 10, 12 and 14, he was sentenced to 12 years each and a fine of N20m on each of them.

The appellant was sentenced to 12 years on counts 16, 18, 20,27,29,30 and 31 with a fine of N10m while on count 32 he will serve 12 years jail term and a fine of N5m. All the sentences are to run concurrently.

Counts 3, 4, 5, 9, 11, 15, 17, 19,21,23,25, under which the Appellant was also found guilty are without fines.

Count of Appeal noted that Nyame was callous in the misappropriation of N24m meant for purchase of grains for the poor masses who were at that time dying of hunger.

In a separate judgment delivered by Justice Stephen Adah, the Court of Appeal reduced the 14 year jail term of ex-Governor Joshua Dariye to 10 years. The former Governor and serving Senator was in June this year sentenced to 14 years in prison by the High Court of Federal Capital Territory.

Senator Joshua Dariye

The court reduced the 14 years sentence to 10 years for criminal breach of trust while a similar conviction for diversion of N1. 62 billion ecological funds was reduced from two years to one year.

The sentences are to run concurrently, meaning that Chief Dariye would serve only ten years in jail.

The Court of Appeal ruled that the lower court erred in law when it sentenced Chief Dariye, a first time offender, to the maximum 14 years term contained in the charge against him.

According to the court, the sentence was handed down in the season of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act which does not allow maximum sentence for first time offenders.

The Court of Appeal dismissed appellant’s argument that State Governors are not public servants. It also dismissed argument that the prosecution did not prove the ingredients of breach of trust.

It would be recalled that High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Gudu, Abuja, presided by Justice Adebukola Banjoko on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 sentenced Chief Dariye who is a serving senator to 14 years’ imprisonment on charges of criminal breach of trust and criminal appropriation of the state’s funds.

The ex-governor was convicted on 15 out the 23 counts preferred against him in July 2007.