ABUJA-(MaraviPost)-Nigeria’s former Minister of Water Resources, Sarah Ochekpe, has been sentenced to three months imprisonment alongside two others for N450 million fraud.
The Federal High Court judge in Jos, Justice Musa Kurna, passed the Verdict on Tuesday, February 22.
According to Guardian, the judge heard that after withdrawing the said amount from the bank, the convicts did not withhold the money to themselves but delivered the same to a governorship candidate, as such were not guilty of retaining the sum for themselves.
The former minister and the accomplices, Raymond Dabo and Leo Jitung, have been standing trial for the past four years on charges bordering on conspiracy and money laundering.
Passing the ruling, Kurna also gave the convicts an option to pay a fine of N1 million each.
The judge also said, the offence, which contravened the provisions of Section 16(1) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2013 as amended, is an offence that carries a minimum of three years imprisonment or a N10 million fine.
Ochekpe was a minister in the administration of former President while Dabo is the former acting PDP chairman in Plateau, and Leo Jatau was the coordinator of the Goodluck Johnathan campaign in the state in 2015.
