The Supreme Court has affirmed the conviction of breach of trust on former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, upon which he was jailed for 14 years.
The apex court, however, quashed the criminal misappropriation of funds which earned the senator a jail term of two years.
Dariye’s appeal prays the Supreme Court to upturn the November 16, 2018, judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which convicted and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment for diversion of public funds estimated at N1.162billion.
The Supreme Court laid the appeal to rest on Friday when it affirmed the conviction of Dariye on criminal breach of trust which carries a 14-year jail sentence, the court however dismissed the second charge of criminal misappropriation of funds which carries a 2-year jail sentence.
In the judgment delivered by Justice Hellen Ogunwumiju, the apex court held that the Court of Appeal and the decision of the Federal Capital Territory High Court were not misplaced under Section 315 of the penal code.
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The misappropriation of funds brought against Dariye under Section 309 of the penal code carries a maximum of two years imprisonment.
Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the Federal Capital Territory High Court had in 2018 sentenced the senator to 14 years in the criminal breach of trust but was reduced to 10 years by the Court of Appeal.
The two years imprisonment imposed on the former governor in the charges of misappropriation of funds was also reduced to one year by the appellate court.
The trial court had 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 tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
( Editor: Omor Bazuaye)
