A high court in Yola, the Adamawa
state capital, has sentenced former state governor Barrister Bala James
Ngillari to five years in jail without option of fine over corruption-related
cases.
 |
| Barrister Bala James Ngilari, Adamawa ex-governor. |
Leadership
newspaper reports that the court, presided over by Justice Nathan Musa, handed
down the sentence on Monday, March 6.
According
to Premium Times, Justice Musa found Ngilari guilty of four charges and
discharged him on one, which bordered on conspiracy, in the 75-minute long
ruling.
The
judge also discharged and acquitted former secretary to the state government
Ibrahim Andrew Waliya and the Commissioner of Finance Sanda Jonathan Lamurde,
who were second and third defendants in the case.
Ngilari,
who was charged on September 21, 2016, will however have the choice of picking
which prison to serve his sentence in.
Recall
that Ngillari was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and
arraigned before the Adamawa state High Court on a 19-count charge case
bordering on fraudulent award of contract worth over N167 million.
He
was however granted N1 million bail by Justice Nathan Musa on
Thursday, September 22.
The
former governor was also asked to provide one surety who must own a landed
property in Yola, Adamawa state capital.
The
surety, the court said, must submit an affidavit of mean to the court registrar
before his release.
The court further
adjourned the matter to Monday, October 10, for the commencement of trial.
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