Aniefiok Christopher
The Nigeria’s Supreme Court, on Friday, upheld the rulings of the trial court and Court of Appeal that convicted and sentenced Senator Albert Bassey to a seven-year imprisonment and the restitution of N204 million to Akwa Ibom State Government.
The five-man panelist of the apex court led by Justice Stephen Jonah Adah, after reviewing the appeal of the appellant, affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal, but the order of restitution which the High court made but ignored by the Court of Appeal was restored.
“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 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,” he said.
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Bassey’s journey to the prison started following his prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), led by prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, before Justice Agatha Okeke of the Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State for receiving bribes of 12 cars worth N254 million when he was serving as Commissioner for Finance in Akwa Ibom State.
He was convicted on all the seven-count charges against him and sentenced to seven years in prison for each charge, totalling 42 years on Thursday, December 1, 2022.
However, the defendant proceeded to the appellate court to which the three-man panel led by Justice Rapheal Chikwe Agbo upheld the conviction but with an option of fine before the apex court struck out the judgement in parts on Friday. He will spend only seven years in prison as he will serve the jail term concurrently.
The Genesis
The case against Senator Bassey Albert began with a petition written by the late Bar. Leo Ekpenyong to the EFCC against former Governor Godswill Akpabio, alleging large-scale fraud and embezzlement of state funds.
Senator Albert was mentioned in that petition only as an accessory, as the then Commissioner of Finance alleged to have aided Akpabio’s activities.
On May 15, 2018, the EFCC arrested Senator Albert and charged him to the Federal High Court in Lagos.
On April 10, 2019, the court struck out the suit for lack of jurisdiction, having determined that the alleged offences were committed in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The EFCC subsequently filed a fresh charge at the Federal High Court, Uyo on June 24, 2019.
Throughout the entire prosecution, the EFCC (a federal government agency) undertook the prosecution without any assistance from the Akwa Ibom State Government under Udom Emmanuel.
The administration of Udom Emmanuel did not supply any information, whether oral or written, to the prosecution at any stage. The state did not prefer any charge against Senator Albert, and not a single prosecution witness was a staff member of the state government.
Senator Albert personally assembled his own legal team, without any input from Mr. Udom Emmanuel or the Akwa Ibom State Government. He equally selected all his defence witnesses without any contribution from the former Governor or the state. Every strategic legal decision made on OBA’s behalf was his own and his team’s alone.
Defence witnesses chosen by Senator Albert himself went to court and admitted to collecting the said vehicles on his behalf. That admission was made without any input or legal advice from Udom Emmanuel or the state government, and it became the singular basis for the conviction. Nothing more, nothing less.
The Federal High Court Judge who convicted Senator Albert was appointed and posted to Uyo by the Federal Government, entirely without the input of the Akwa Ibom State Government. The bench, like the prosecution, was a federal affair from start to finish.
On May 18, 2018, at the height of his ordeal, Senator Albert published an article in the Vanguard Newspaper titled “My Political Ordeal with EFCC.”
The conviction of Senator Bassey Albert was the product of a federal investigation, a federal prosecution, and a damaging admission made by witnesses the defendant himself selected and presented.
However, the defendant proceeded to the appellate court to which the three-man panel led by Justice Raphael Chikwe Agbo upheld the conviction but with an option of fine.
