A Niger 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.
According to The PUNCH, the presiding judge, Justice Abdullahi Mikail pronounced the punishment after convicting Farouk of unethical behavior related to earning N11 million in kickbacks from a contractor.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission arraigned the convict in court.
The ICPC’s spokesman, Azuka Ogugua, revealed in a statement on Friday that Farouk was first charged in July 2020 on seven charges of gratification and conferment of corrupt advantage upon self.
The convict was reported to have pleaded not guilty, laying the groundwork for the lengthy trial.
Ogugua said, “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 N11m as kickback from a contractor for the award of contract for the registration of auto mechanic workshops, registration of auto spare parts dealers, registration of motorcycle/tricycle dealers and registration of colour code certification for commercial transport operators.
“The prosecution explained to the court how the convict had received money on different occasions, sometimes N100,000, N500,000, N400,000, and so on, to the tune of N11m from one Oyabambi Stephen on behalf of Boyabam Services Global Limited in exchange for a contract.
“The court was also informed that the said action of the convict was in contravention of sections 8 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under the same Act.
“The trial judge stated that the prosecution had proven their case beyond reasonable doubt. He thereby found the Deputy Director guilty on all the seven counts and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment each for counts one to six and five years’ imprisonment for count seven. All the sentences are to run concurrently.”
