A STATE High Court in Minna has sentenced a serving Deputy Director of the Niger State Ministry of Land Transportation, Umar Farouk, to seven years imprisonment.
This was contained in a news release signed by the spokesperson, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Azuka Ogogua, and made available to The ICIR on Friday, January 13, 2023.
According to the anti-graft agency, Farouk was sentenced for demanding and receiving gratification of N11 million from a contractor for the award of a contract.
The commission had on July 2020 dragged Farouk before Justice Abdullahi Mikhail on a seven-count charge bordering on gratification and conferment of corrupt advantage upon self, an allegation he pleaded not guilty to, thereby setting the tone for a longer trial.
The ICPC prosecutor, Osuobeni Akpos, had told the court that “Farouk, while serving as the Deputy Director of Land Transport for the Niger State Ministry of Land Transportation in 2016, collected the sum of N11,000,000 as kickback from a contractor for the award of contract for the registration of Auto Mechanic Workshops.”
Akpos also explained to the court how the convict had received money on different occasions to the tune of N11 million, which was in contravention of Section 8 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under the same Act.
In his ruling, Justice Mikhail said that the prosecution had proven their case beyond reasonable doubt.
He, therefore, found the Deputy Director guilty on all seven counts and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment each for counts one to six, and five years imprisonment for count seven.
