A High court in Yola,Adamawa,has sentenced a former governor, Bala Ngilari to five years imprisonment over corruption charges.
The presiding judge, Justice Nathan Musa convicted Nggilari on five corruption charges against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC had arraigned Ngilari, his Secretary to the Government, Ibrahim Weyle and the Commissioner of Finance, Sanda Lamurde for violating due process for purchase of 25 Toyota Hilux trucks costing N167.8 million while they were in office.
Justice Musa said the governor refused to follow the provisions of the Procurement Act in respect of the contract for purchase of the 25 vehicles.
The court however discharged and acquitted the other two defendants, Weyle and Lamurde who were arraigned alonside the former governor.
The judge warned state governors against abuse of due process in the conduct of government business, saying the judgement would serve as lesson to governors who run as personal estate.
Ngilari served as deputy governor to former governor Murtala for seven years until. Impeachment of Nyako in July 2014 by the state Assembly which also saw him resigning to avoid impeachment alongside his boss.
Ngilari became governor following a court ruling that annulled his resignation as improper and returned him as substantive governor to complete the remaining seven months on Nyako’s tenure.He served between October 2014 and May 2015.
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