Joshua Dariye in Court (Photo: Evelyn Okakwu for Premium Times)
Former
Plateau State governor, Joshua Dariye, has been sentenced to 14 years
in prison for corruption after he dramatically begged for mercy before
the final judgement.
The above photo of convicted former governor of Plateau State,
Joshua Dariye, which was exclusively posted by PREMIUM Times, was
captured moments after the politician asked the prosecution to tamper
justice with mercy at his trial on Tuesday.
Dariye had begged for the mercy on his case while responding to
comments made by the prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs, at his trial on
Tuesday.
“Be merciful. You are a Christian, your name is Jacob,” Dariye said.
Dariye who was accompanied by family members, friends and political
associates, was found guilty of 15 out of 23 counts after he was
charged with by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
After reading through the judgement, the judge, Adebukola Banjoko gave the lawyers room to speak for their clients.
Justice Adebukola Banjoko, thereafter sentenced Dariye to two years
in prison for criminal breach of trust and 14 years for criminal
misappropriation of funds.
In her ruling, the judge said: “I can’t imagine a brazen act of looting as in this case.
“I welled up while reading (the judgement) thinking of the
victims, it is a litany of woes. They were adults making rational
choices. More importantly, I think what touches me the most, your
family, they are victims.
“Having found the defendant guilty of these counts of criminal
breach trust and criminal appropriation, the court sentences you to two
years for criminal breach of trust and 14 years for criminal
appropriation.”
The sentences are to run concurrently. The court gave no option of fine.
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