A former Governor of Taraba State, Jolly Nyame, was on Wednesday sentenced to 14-year imprisonment for criminal breach of trust by misappropriating the sum of N1.64bn preferred against him by the EFCC.
Nyame was convicted on a total of 27 out of the 41 counts preferred against him.
He was convicted and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment with the highest being 14 years for offences bordering on criminal breach of trust, criminal misappropriation, taking valuable thing without consideration and receiving gratification as a public officer.
Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Gudu, Abuja, who read the judgment for a period of about four hours sentenced him to the maximum punishment of 14 years for criminal breach of trust, without an option of fine.
She sentenced him to the maximum sentence of two years for misappropriation, seven years for receiving gratification and five years for “obtaining valuable thing without consideration.”
The sentences were the maximum provided by the laws under which Nyame was charged in May 2007.
The judge, while dismissing his lawyer’s plea for mercy, described the act of the convict as likely to be the most “audacious” by any chief executive of a state.
Meanwhile residents of Taraba have urged him to appeal the judgement.
Some residents of Taraba whgile reacting to the judgment called on the former governor to approach the Court of Appeal which they said would overturn the ruling of the lower court.
