Why Buhari Pardoned Ex Govs. Dariye, Nyame Imprisoned For Stealing Funds | READ DETAILS
Former governors; Joshua Dariye (Plateau state); Jolly Nyame (Taraba state) and 157 others have been granted a presidential pardon by President Muhammadu Buhari.
President Buhari approved their pardon on Thursday, April 14, 2022 during the Council of State meeting held at the presidential villa, Abuja.
All Facts Newspaper had reported that ex president Goodluck Jonathan, former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, and others including some state governors were present at the meeting. READ HERE
In 2018, an FCT High court presided over by Justice Adebukola Banjoko, convicted the former governors who served between 1999 and 2007 for laundering public funds.
Dariye who laundered N1.162bn was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment but was reduced to 10 years by an Appeal Court sitting in Abuja and subsequently affirmed by the Supreme Court.
Nyame on his own part was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for laundering N1.6bn state’s treasury, a judgment which was also upheld by the Supreme Court.
Speaking to newsmen after the State Council meeting, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said the council approved 159 out of 162 applications presented for consideration for the prerogative of mercy for convicts and inmates in correctional facilities nationwide.
He noted that the council rejected a proposal to grant pardon to one of the prisoners sentenced to 120 years for theft of over N25bn. The pardon, he said, was sought on health grounds.
The names of the other 157 pardoned is yet to be made public.
According to the Spokesman for Dariye, Mr. Christopher John, the pardon of the ex-governors had nothing to do with them being members of the All Progressives Congress.
“We are so excited about this. We’ve been expecting for a long time and fortunately, it has come at this time. We thank God and the government for granting him this pardon. The Nigerian system has made many court judgments unreliable. You can be roped into things you know nothing about.
“I believe that it is the will of God for him to be released. I don’t trust the Nigerian court system. Jolly Nyame was also released and we thank God. It has nothing to do with them being in the APC. It was even the PDP that charged them to court. The APC was not in power when this thing started. We know the genesis” John said.
