Supreme Court upholds ex-Akwa Ibom finance commissioner's seven-year jail term

The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the conviction and seven-year prison sentence handed to former finance commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, Bassey Albert, over a N240 million fraud case.

The court restored an earlier order that Mr Albert, who later became a senator, must refund N204 million to the Akwa Ibom State Government.

Senator Bassey Albert — ***Bassey Albert***

Mr Albert was accused of receiving bribes of 12 cars in 2012 as commissioner for finance and chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Direct Labour Coordinating Committee from an oil marketer, Olajide Omokore, who is also an associate of former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Mrs Alison-Madueke is currently standing corruption-related trial in the UK.

During the trial, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) stated that Mr Omokore’s companies bought the cars for Mr Albert after receiving N3 billion in contracts from the Akwa Ibom State Government at that time, and that the vehicles were part of corruption proceeds.

The anti-graft agency had listed the vehicles bought for the convicted senator to include, Infinity QX 56 BP, valued at N45 million; Toyota Land Cruiser V8 BP, valued at N40 million; Range Rover, valued at N40 million; Toyota Hiace, High Roof, valued at N27 million; Toyota Hiace High Roof, valued at N16 million and Toyota Hilux 4×4, valued at N36 million.

According to a press release on the official Facebook page of the EFCC on Friday evening, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Stephen Adah, unanimously upheld the trial court’s and the Court of Appeal’s decisions that found Mr Albert guilty of corruption-related offences in a judgement delivered on Friday.

The release said that the court, however, faulted the Court of Appeal for setting aside the restitution order earlier made by the trial court, describing the omission as a misapplication of the law.

“The order of this court is that the conviction and sentencing imposed by the lower court on the 23 day of June 2023 on the appellant is hereby affirmed,” the release quoted Justice Adah as saying.

“But the order of the lower court avoiding the order of restitution given by the trial court did not follow the law, so it is revised and the right order is to nullify same and thereby the restitution of sum of N204 million made by the trial court is restored.”

Background to the case

Mr Albert served as finance commissioner under the then Governor Godswill Akpabio, when he committed the offence.

The anti-graft agency, through its prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, arraigned Mr Albert before Justice Agatha Okeke of the Federal High Court in Uyo on seven counts of corruption and abuse of office.

On 1 December 2022, the trial court convicted him on all seven counts and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment on each count, amounting to a cumulative 42 years. The sentences were to run concurrently.

Dissatisfied, Mr Albert approached the Court of Appeal, where a three-member panel led by Justice Raphael Agbo upheld the conviction but introduced an option of fine. That aspect of the judgement became one of the issues contested before the Supreme Court.

With Friday’s ruling, the Supreme Court ended the protracted legal battle, affirming the conviction and seven-year sentence, while restoring the N204 million restitution order originally granted by the trial court.

Beyond serving as commissioner, Mr Albert was a senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East from 2015 to 2023 under the PDP. He later defected to the Young Progressives Party in 2022 to contest the Akwa Ibom governorship election but was defeated by Governor Umo Eno. He later defected to the APC.