The Court of Appeal, Yola, Adamawa State has upheld the conviction of Ibrahim Mohammed Umar, a former electoral officer with the Independent National Electoral Commission ((INEC) in Yola South Local government area.
Umar and his accomplice were convicted of a three-count charge and sentenced to total of 42 years in prison after an Adamawa High Court pronounced them guilty of collecting bribery to the tune of N362million, from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The money was part of the bribe allegedly distributed by Diezani to influence the outcome of the 2015 presidential poll.
The charges were brought against the duo by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The trial judge, Justice Nathan Musa, in his judgment, held that EFCC proved its case beyond reasonable doubt as the convict was identified as the person who signed and collected the said sum from Diezani.
The judge held that the accused will serve a jail term of seven years for each of the three count charges filed against them by the EFCC without an option of fine on all the counts.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the court below, the convict had approached the Court of Appeal, Yola Division to set it aside.