TWO chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Bauchi State, North-East Nigeria have been convicted by the Federal High Court in Bauchi.
Saleh Hussaini Gamawa and Aminu Umar Gadiya were also sentenced to three years imprisonment for offences that border on conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N142,460,000.
According to a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission – EFCC, Justice Hassan Dikko convicted the duo while ruling on the two-count charge brought against the defendants by the anti-graft agency.
The defendants were first arraigned on June 4, 2018 and re-arraigned on October 16, 2018 on a two-count charge for allegedly receiving over N142 million to influence the outcome of the 2015 Presidential elections in Bauchi State.
Gamawa and Gadiya had pleaded not guilty to the charges, setting the stage for the case to proceed to full trial. In the course of trial, the prosecution presented one witness and tendered documents marked as Exhibits A1, A2 and A3. Both defendants testified in their respective defence.
At the close of evidence, the final written addresses were filed, exchanged and adopted on January 17, 2023, with the prosecution asking the court to convict the defendants as charged.
The defence, on the other hand, submitted that the evidence presented against the defendants by the prosecution was not credible and urged the court to discharge and acquit them. Justice Dikko then reserved judgement for March 2, 2023.
In the well-considered judgement that lasted more than three hours, Justice Dikko reviewed the facts of the case and the submissions of counsels and arrived at the conclusion that the prosecution proved the cases against the defendants beyond reasonable doubt on count one and convicted them as charged. He however discharged and acquitted the second defendant on count two.
Before sentencing the defendants, Justice Dikko acknowledged their pleas for leniency but insisted that they must be punished to serve as deterrent to others.
The sentences are to run concurrently from March 2, 2023.
