Court of Appeal commutes Dariye's 14 years jail term to 10

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday commuted the 14 years jail term of the former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, to 10.

According to the court, the 14 years sentence slammed on the former governor for the counts was excessive especially because the appellant is a first-time offender

Justice Stephen Adah who read the unanimous judgment of the three-man panel also quashed the sentence in count 12.

The panel posited that the lower court which had earlier found Dariye not guilty for the charge should not have sentenced him on the charge.

The court also quashed count 23 because the persecution did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the former governor diverted the funds of the state to purchase a house in London.

The court, therefore, reduced the sentences to 10 years for each count which is to run concurrently.

It would be recalled that High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Gudu, Abuja, presided by Justice Adebukola Banjoko on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, sentenced former governor Joshua Dariye who was a serving senator to 14 years' imprisonment on charges of criminal breach of trust and criminal appropriation of the state's funds running to over N2billion.