Court sentences ex-Taraba Governor to 14 years imprisonment

Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Gudu, Abuja, has sentenced

Justice Banjoko handed down the sentence after she found Nyame guilty of "misappropriation and misapplication of N165 million with dishonest intention".

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) dragged Nyame to court in 2007 on 41 counts of fraud alleging the misappropriation of N1.64 billion while he was governor, but the court found him guilty for 27 of them.

Nyame, who was Taraba governor between 1999 and 2007, was jailed two years for receiving gratification, five years for obtaining public funds without due consideration, seven years for criminal breach of trust, and and 14 years for gratification. The jail terms will run concurrently.

The judge said, "There is no moral justification for the level of outright theft and the court will be failing in its responsibility if it does not impose punishment to serve as a deterrent."

Nyame, a reverend, served as Taraba governor with the People's Democratic Party (PDP) for two terms, but defected to the All Progressives' Congress (APC) in 2014 and met with President Muhammadu Buhari when he was a candidate.