JUST IN : Appeal Court Reduces Senator Dariye’s Jail Term To 10 years

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal on Friday commuted the sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment passed on a former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, earlier this year to 10 years.

The court held that the maximum sentence of 14 years for the counts was excessive especially because the appellant is a first-time offender and was not known to the court to have earlier committed such.

The presiding Justice Stephen Adah who read the unanimous judgment of the three-man panel also reduced the sentence in count 12.

The panel said  the lower court which had earlier found Joshua Dariye not guilty for the charge should not have sentenced him on the charge.

It  also reduced count 23 because the persecution did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the former governor diverted the funds of the state to purchase a house in London.

The court, therefore, reduced the sentences to 10 years for each count which is to run concurrently.

Joshua Dariye was sentenced on the diversion of ecological fund belonging to Plateau state government while he was the governor of the state.

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Gudu, Abuja, presided by Justice Adebukola Banjoko on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 had sentenced former governor Joshua Dariye who was a serving senator to 14 years’ imprisonment on charges of criminal breach of trust and criminal appropriation of the state’s funds running to over N2billion.