…the supreme court said it found no basis to disturb the earlier decisions convicting and sentencing the appellant.
ANAMBRA, NIGERIA- The iNews Times | The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the conviction and seven-year jail term handed to former Akwa Ibom North-East Senator, Albert Bassey Akpan.
Akpan, who represented the district between 2015 and 2023, was convicted for accepting 12 luxury vehicles as bribes from contractors involved in a N3 billion project executed for the Akwa Ibom State Government.
The court established that the vehicles, valued at more than N254 million, were received while he was serving as Commissioner for Finance in the state.
He was found to have violated Section 15(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended), an offence punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.
Akpan was initially convicted by Justice Agatha Okeke of the Federal High Court in Oyo. His subsequent appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, although the appellate court declined to enforce the trial court’s directive ordering him to refund N240 million to the Federal Government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Unhappy with the appellate ruling, the former lawmaker approached the Supreme Court, which on Friday dismissed his appeal.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a five-member panel headed by Justice Stephen Adah, the supreme court said it found no basis to disturb the earlier decisions convicting and sentencing the appellant.
The Supreme Court also restored the trial court’s restitution order, ruling that the lower court erred in setting it aside.
“The conviction and sentence imposed by the lower court on June 23, 2023, are hereby affirmed. The decision of the lower court to nullify the trial court’s restitution order was not in accordance with the law and is set aside. The restitution order of N204 million made by the trial court is hereby reinstated,” the court held.
