Ex-INEC administrative chiefs jailed over N264m bribe
The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has sentenced the former Administrative Secretary of INEC in Kwara state, Christian Nwosu and one other INEC chief, Tijani Bashiru to jail for collecting the sum of N264million from former minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke to manipulate election results in 2015.
Nwosu and Bashiru were prosecuted for participating in the largesse that was distributed to key influencers in the run-up to the 2015 elections.
The case which was presided over by Justice Mohammed Idris, found the duo guilty of the charge brought against them by EFCC.
In his ruling, Justice Idris accepted all evidence presented before him as a ground to make pronouncements on the case.
“I find that the prosecution has proved the case beyond reasonable doubt in the manner required by law.
“I, therefore, find the first and second defendants guilty as charged,” he said.
The judge further held, “The defendants admitted that they did not receive cheques from anyone, including the PDP or INEC before going to Fidelity Bank. Why did they have to collect such huge amount of money in cash? INEC is not a customer of Fidelity Bank.
“There was no instruction directing the bank to disburse the said N264,880,000 to the intending beneficiaries. The defendants admitted receiving the money.
“The evidence on record shows that this money did not come from any political party or any other known legitimate source other than the source revealed by the prosecution.”
