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The Calabar Division of the Courtroom of Attraction, on Friday, affirmed the conviction of a former senator, Bassey Albert, on cash laundering costs, which concerned N240 million proceeds of bribery.
However the appellate courtroom softened the punishment imposed on the convict by giving him an choice of a advantageous in its place penalty to the seven years of jail time imposed on him by the trial courtroom.
The trial decide, Aghatha Okeke of the Federal Excessive Courtroom in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, had on 1 December 2022, convicted Mr Albert on all seven costs involving cash laundering and punished him with seven years’ imprisonment for every depend.
The courtroom additionally ordered Mr Albert to repay N240 million to the state as a situation for his launch after serving the jail time period.
However delivering judgment on the enchantment filed by Mr Albert to problem his conviction, the three-man panel of the appellate courtroom led by Raphael Chikwe Agbo, on Friday, upheld his conviction of the previous senator however various the sentence by granting the appellant an choice of advantageous.
The courtroom additionally affirmed that the appellant ought to make restitution of N240 million, the proceeds of the alleged crime, to the federal authorities, an announcement by the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC), the company that prosecuted the convict, mentioned Friday.
The assertion added that Mr Albert was ordered to make the restitution via the EFCC.
Additional softening the sentence imposed by the Federal Excessive Courtroom, the appellate courtroom additionally dominated that restitution shall not be a prerequisite for his launch from the correctional facility.
However the courtroom revoked the sooner post-conviction bail.
The trial courtroom had convicted Mr Albert, the senator representing Akwa Ibom North East District, within the immediate-past ninth Senate, of the offences he dedicated whereas serving because the Commissioner for Finance in Akwa Ibom State between 2010 and 2014.
Mr Albert was mentioned to have obtained 12 vehicles price N254 million as bribes from an oil marketer, Olajidee Omokore, who was then a contractor who executed a N3 billion contract for Akwa Ibom State.
He was mentioned to have taken the bribes because the chairperson of the state authorities’s Inter-Ministerial Direct Labour Coordinating Committee.
The varied offences contravene Part 15 (2) (d) of the Cash Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 and are punishable below Part 15 (3) of the identical Act.
Mr Albert served as Commissioner for Finance within the administration of Godswill Akpabio as Governor of Akwa Ibom State. Mr Akpabio served between 2007 and 2015.
The convict was additionally the Akwa Ibom State governorship candidate of the Younger Progressives Celebration (YPP) for the 2023 election.
Attraction, post-conviction bail
Mr Albert was taken to Ikot Ekpene prisons to serve his time period after his conviction on 1 December 2022.
However shortly after his jailing, he utilized for a post-conviction bail on the Federal Excessive Courtroom in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
On 29 December 2022, a decide, S. I. Mark of the Federal Excessive Courtroom, who was then sitting as a trip decide, granted him a post-conviction bail on well being grounds.
Mr Albert was taken to the College of Instructing Hospital for a check-up after his well being deteriorated whereas serving his jail time period.
However upon launch from jail, Mr Albert continued his marketing campaign to be governor of Akwa Ibom State. Subsequently, he filed an enchantment on the Courtroom of Attraction in Calabar to problem his conviction.
Whereas arguing towards the enchantment, counsel for the EFCC, Ekele Iheanacho, urged the appellate courtroom to uphold the decrease courtroom’s judgment, dismiss the enchantment and revoke the post-conviction bail granted to the convict.
The lawyer anchored his prayers on the grounds that “the prosecution proved its case past affordable doubt and the cost was validly filed”.
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