By Emmanuel Nduka
A Federal High Court sitting in Jos, the Plateau State capital on Tuesday, sentenced a former Minister of Water Resources, Sarah Ochekpe, and two others to three months imprisonment.
Mrs Ochekpe who served as Minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan, was sentenced alongside a former Chairman of the opposition People Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Raymond Dabo, and the Plateau State Coordinator of Jonathan Campaign Organization, Leo-Sunday Jitong.
The three accused persons had been standing trial since 2018 in a case of money laundering and conspiracy brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) amounting to over N450 million.
The former Minister and the others, were alleged to have received the sum of N450 million from Fidelity Bank Plc through cash and wire transfer by some oil companies and former Petroleum Resources Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to influence the outcome of the 2015 presidential election.
Wilson Uwujaren, head of Media and Publicity at the EFCC, said investigation had showed that, on March 26, 2015, the said sum was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by Fidelity Bank Plc, Jos main branch, and handed over to the defendants in cash after they signed for collection.
Though the defendants claimed that they handed over the money to late Senator Gyang Pwajok, the Plateau State PDP Governorship candidate in 2015, they however failed to provide any evidence to support the claim.
