Funke Busari
It is end of the legal battle for the former governor of Plateau State Joshua Dariye as the Supreme court upheld the 10-year imprisonment imposed on former Plateau Governor, Joshua Dariye upon his conviction on the offence of criminal breach of trust.
A five-man panel of the court, led by Justice Mary Odili, in a unanimous judgement on today, upheld Dariye’s appeal in part, by quashing the one-year sentence imposed on him by the Court of Appeal in relation to the offence of criminal misappropriation.
The Supreme Court upheld Dariye’s concurrent conviction and sentence by the trial court and the Court of Appeal on the offence of criminal breach of trust is upheld.
Joshua Dariye had, in his appeal, prayed the Supreme Court to upturn the November 16, 2018 judgement of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which convicted him and sentenced him to 10 years for diverting public funds estimated at over one billion naira while he was the Governor.
Recall that Dariye was convicted for diverting about N1.2 billion from the state’s Ecological Fund, to private companies and individuals.
He proceeded on appeal, which also suffered the same fate on June 17, 2010.
The former governor proceeded to the Supreme Court on July 13, 2010.
The apex court in its judgement delivered on February 27, 2015 found the appeal to be lacking in merit and consequently dismissed it and ordered the court to commence expeditious trial of the former governor.
