Nigeria: Police Pension Scam Sentence - Criminal Law Inadequacy, Charge Perfidy, Plea Bargain Sham, or Sentence Inequity?

1 February 2013
opinion

On Monday, January 28, 2013, a High Court of Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory, Abuja presided over by Hon. Justice Abubakar Talba convicted John Yakubu Yusuf (JYY) of the offence of criminal appropriation and sentenced him to a prison term of 2 years with an option of fine of N250, 000 for each of the 3 counts in a 20-Count Amended Charge, to which JYY had specifically pleaded guilty. Since the Judge ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, JYY was, in effect, sentenced to a cumulative prison term of 2 years with an option of N750, 000 fine. However, in addition to the custodial punishment or fine, JYY was ordered to forfeit, to the State, 32 real property, situate in Abuja and Gombe, and the sum of N325 million, proceeds of his crime, stashed away in banks and frozen.

JYY, a former Assistant Director in the Police Pension Office and the 8th accused person in the Charge whereon he was convicted, had pleaded guilty to Counts 18, 19 and 20, which accused him of conniving with Essai Dangabar (Director of Police Pension Fund), Atiku Abubakar Kigo (Permanent Secretary), and others to convert a total sum of N27.2 billion, belonging to the Police Pension Office, to their own use; an offence defined by S. 308 and punishable under S. 309 of the Penal Code Act (PCA), Cap 532, LFN, 1990

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