Politics
Fraud: Akwa Ibom governorship candidate bags 42-year jail term
Bassey Albert, governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Akwa Ibom, has been sentenced to 42 years in prison for fraud by a Federal High Court in Uyo, the state capital.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had, in 2019, arraigned Albert on a six-count charge of allegedly taking possession of six vehicles worth N204 million when he was finance commissioner in the state.
Albert was said to have collected one of the vehicles from Jide Omokore, an associate of Diezani Alison Madueke, former minister of petroleum.
Omokore reportedly had dealings with the state when he offered Bassey the vehicles.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Agatha Okeke, the presiding judge, found the senator guilty of the offences.
Consequently, he was sentenced to Ikot Ekpene prison to serve his jail term.
Albert, a serving senator representing Akwa Ibom north-east district, was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He, however, defected to the YPP in July, where he secured the party’s ticket for the 2023 governorship election.
