EFCC says it has secured a total of 312 convictions between
January and December 24, 2018 which is a significant improvement from the 189
convictions recorded in 2017.
More significantly is that it includes the conviction of two
Politically Exposed Persons, PEPs – Jolly Nyame, a former governor of Taraba
State and Joshua Dariye, a serving Senator and a former governor of Plateau
state. Both are currently serving jail terms at Kuje Prison. A Senior Advocate
of Nigeria, Joseph Nwobike, who has been stripped of the highly revered legal
title, was also convicted for perverting the course of justice.
Dariye and Nyame, who were sentenced to 14 years in prison
had approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the "guilty" verdict
handed down on them by a Federal Capital Territory High Court, Gudu presided
over by Justice Adebukola Banjoko. However, while upholding their convictions,
the Appellate Court commuted Dariye's jailterm to 10 years, and that of Nyame
to 12 years with a fine of N495 million.
With the convictions, the EFCC, led by Ibrahim Magu as the
acting Chairman, has remained consistent in its concerted efforts aimed at
ensuring that the negative narrative of pervasive corruption in the system is
changed for the better, and the perception that some persons are above the Law,
is altered.
The record of convictions cuts across the various offices of
the EFCC with Lagos securing 85 convictions, Abuja with 53, followed by Kano
with 36. Port Harcourt secured 33 convictions, Gombe recorded 28; Benin had 27;
Enugu, 15; Maiduguri, 11; Ibadan, 10; Uyo, 8, and Kaduna, 6.
