The Court of Appeal Abuja Division has commuted the sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment passed on a former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, earlier this year to 10 years.
In its judgment on Friday, the Court held that the maximum sentence of 14 years for the counts was excessive especially because the appellant is a first-time offender
Justice Stephen Adah who read the unanimous judgment of the three-man panel also quashed the sentence in count 12.
The panel stated that the lower court which had earlier found Dariye not guilty for the charge should not have sentenced him on the charge.
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Also, the court quashed count 23 because the prosecution did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the former governor diverted the funds of the state to purchase a house in London.
The court, therefore, reduced the sentences to 10 years for each count which is to run concurrently.
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Gudu, Abuja, presided by Justice Adebukola Banjoko on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, it would be recalled had sentenced former governor Joshua Dariye who was a serving senator to 14 years’ imprisonment on charges of criminal breach of trust and criminal appropriation of the state’s funds running to over N2billion.
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Crime