Ex-Gov Dariye asks Supreme Court docket to free him or scale back his 10-year jail time period
A former Plateau State Governor, Senator Joshua Dariye has requested the Supreme Court docket to reverse his conviction or scale back the 10-year jail time period handed him by the Court docket of Enchantment.
His lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN) made the plea on Thursday on the listening to of an attraction by Dariye.
Agabi, after adopting his written argument, prayed the courtroom to permit his shopper’s attraction and put aside Dariye’s conviction and sentence.
The previous Lawyer Common of the Minister of Justice (AGF) argued that Dariye’s conviction was speculative and urged the courtroom to indicate mercy on him.
Agabi added: “Here’s a man sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. 10 years is greater than a lifetime for some folks. You need to present him mercy.”
He nevertheless added that, ought to the courtroom be minded to disallow the attraction and affirm the choice of the Court docket of Enchantment, it ought to scale back the sentence considerably.
Lawyer to the respondent, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) countered and urged the courtroom to dismiss the attraction and uphold the concurrent findings of the 2 decrease courts.
Jacobs contended {that a} public servant was not higher than the widespread man within the eyes of the regulation.
He added: “As for the sentence handed, it has been lowered to 10 years. That he (the appellant) is a public servant doesn’t imply he ought to go free.”
A five-man panel of the Supreme Court docket, led by Justice Mary Odili, after entertaining arguments from attorneys to events, adjourned until March 21 subsequent yr for ruling.
Dariye is, by his attraction, praying the Supreme Court docket to upturn the November 16, 20218 judgment of the Court docket of Enchantment, Abuja, which convicted him and sentenced him to 10 years for diverting public funds estimated at N1.162billion whereas he was the governor.
A 3-man panel of the Court docket of Enchantment, led by Justice Stephen Adah, in its choice, upheld an earlier judgement by Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the Excessive Court docket of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), delivered on June 12, 2018.
The trial courtroom convicted Dariye on 15 counts regarding the offences of legal breach of belief and legal misappropriation, contained within the 23-count cost on which he was tried by the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC).
In upholding Dariye’s conviction, the Court docket of Enchantment famous that the prosecution, led by Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) successfully proved its allegation of legal breach of belief and legal misappropriation towards the ex-governor.
The Enchantment Court docket nevertheless faulted the trial courtroom for convicting Dariye on counts 12 and 23, which it mentioned the prosecution didn’t show.
It additionally faulted the trial courtroom for imposing the utmost sentences on each offences of legal breach of belief and legal misappropriation.
The Enchantment Court docket proceeded to scale back the 14 years sentence for the offence of legal breach of belief to 10 years, and lowered the 2 years sentence for legal misappropriation to at least one yr.
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