Appeal Court Reduces Former Plateau Governor, Senator Joshua Dariye’s 14-Year Jail Sentence to 10

Senator Joshua Dariye in court

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday reduced the jail term of former governor of Plateau state, now Senator Joshua Dariye to 10 years, from 14 years, Guardian is reporting.

Dariye was, on June 12, 2018, convicted of 15 out of the 23 counts of fraud against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the Federal High Court in Abuja subsequently sentenced him to 14 years in Jail.

Dariye was sentenced to 14 years for criminal breach of trust and 2 years for diversion of N1.62 billion ecological funds.

The court reduced the 14-year sentence to 10 years, and the 2-year sentence to 1 and both are to run concurrently.

The appeal court ruled that the sentence was reduced because the Administration of Criminal Justice Act which does not allow maximum sentence for first-time offenders.