TheNewsGuru

Tag: Joshua Dariye

  • Influence of Ibori, Dariye, other convicts around Tinubu frightening – Dr Sam Amadi

    Influence of Ibori, Dariye, other convicts around Tinubu frightening – Dr Sam Amadi

    Director of Abuja Social Political Thoughts, Dr Sam Amadi has described as frightening the increasing influence of some convicted former governors within the President Bola Tinubu administration saying that it is a negative influence on moral probity.

    Speaking in an interview, he specifically cited former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori and Chief Joshua Dariye, two former governors in the Tinubu class of former governors who he said should not be allowed around the president.

    Noting that the 37th president of the United States, Richard Nixon was turned into a political orphan after he was linked to high crimes, he disclosed how he had to escape a dinner organized to bolster Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s bid for Senate President essentially because of the stigma.

    Dr Amadi a former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC spoke in an interview on AIT’s Kaakaki programme on Monday.

    He said:

    “Many of us get worried when we see persons who have been convicted of crimes. Convicted, not alleged like when somebody like Ibori and others are going to the villa and being seen as strategists and advisers?

    “All over the world, when Nixon (President Richard Nixon, 37th president of the United States) failed, he was avoided. Talk of people like Orji Uzor Kalu who was convicted and was released because it was a mistrial and I was invited for a dinner where he was going to run for Senate President, I opted out because I don’t think that with due respect that that his profile should fit into the profile of somebody who should be Senate President.

    “He might be a very wonderful person, brilliant guy, smart guy who has done a lot of work with Enyimba as governor, but there are certain conducts, convictions people like Dariye and shouldn’t be the persons who a president who is facing scrutiny by the way, these are not the kind of persons who should surround you and make trips like Mecca or Jerusalem and go to the Villa.

    “So, the integrity of institutions requires some moral signaling and so the fear of the people is that if we are going to have this coterie of convicted and arraigned criminals who are either convicted or who are facing serious prosecution by state anti-corruption agencies and they are people who are making daily pilgrimage to the villa, it makes us worried as to what is their mission. Why are they the poster child of the administration?

    “Is there something cooking that we don’t know? And this is the kind of thing that moral champions should be worried about. A country transforms not by magic or prayer, a country transforms by deliberate decision to recognize some and derecognize others.

    “If persons have been convicted of crime, forgery, corruption against public good, they need to take the back bench. They shouldn’t be the moral champions, they shouldn’t be the persons who are seen daily with the president, whose first job as president is to rebuild public morality.

    “You have to put it together that a president assembling convicted criminals, not alleged but by court and building strategic themes around them.

    “I think we need to now have clarity on public morality. This country has become a republic of fraud. No rules, people don’t obey rules. Why would these boys who have been convicted become the new champions of a new Nigeria? That is terrible with the picture of Dariye, Ibori, all these guys being the closest to the president, it is frightening. It is frightening to us as it suggests something dangerous. That is really bad.”

  • Ex-Plateau Gov, Dariye speaks first time after state pardon

    Ex-Plateau Gov, Dariye speaks first time after state pardon

    Former Plateau Governor, Joshua Dariye, who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment over corruption charges in 2018, has thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for granting him state pardon.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Dariye was granted state pardon by the Council of State led by President Buhari in April 2022 and was eventually released from Kuje Correctional Centre in August, four months after he was granted pardon.

    Dariye, who arrived in Jos on Wednesday, said “I thank President Muhammadu Buhari for being magnanimous and granting us state pardon. I also thank Plateau people for their prayers and solidarity during my travail. If not for your prayers and support, this day would not have been possible”.

    The former lawmaker expressed happiness and thanked God for uniting him with his people. He assured the people that he, alongside his supporters, would consolidate on whatever gain they had made over the years and unite the people toward building a greater Plateau.

    The former governor urged Plateau residents to obtain their permanent voters cards so as to elect credible leaders in 2023.

  • Nyame, Dariye, others released from prison

    Nyame, Dariye, others released from prison

    A former Governor of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye; a former Taraba State Governor, Jolly Nyame; and three others have been released from prison.

    They were released from Kuje Custodial Centre and three yet-to-be identified convicts were also released from the Suleja Custodial Centre on Monday.

    The Nigerian Correctional Service’s spokesperson in the Federal Capital Territory, Chukwuedo Humphrey, confirmed their release.

    “The release is sequel to the receipt of the letter of clemency from the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy Committee by the Controller General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa.

    “The Controller of Corrections, FCT Command, Ahmed Ahmed, acting on the directives of the Controller General, also released three other inmates who were granted pardon from the Suleja Custodial Centre.”

    However, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Umar Abubakar, said they would be freed as soon as all conditions are perfected.

    “Now, it is only these ones released from Kuje Custodial Centre that their process of release has been perfected. Once someone has been brought in, there is a process that must be followed to release them. However, we will keep releasing them as they meet the conditions,” he stated.

    The Council of State, led by the President Muhammadu Buhari had on April 14 approved the pardon of the 159 convicts.

    Nyame was serving a 12-year jail sentence for diverting N1.64bn during his tenure as governor of Taraba, while Dariye was serving 10 years’ imprisonment for N1.126bn fraud.

    Justifying the pardon, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, had said the two former governors had life-threatening illnesses.

  • Correctional Service releases Ex-Governors Dariye, Nyame

    Correctional Service releases Ex-Governors Dariye, Nyame

    The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command has released two former governors, Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame, as well as three others from costodial centres.

    The Public Relations Officer, FCT command, Mr Chukwuedo Humphrey disclosed this to newsmen on Monday in Abuja.

    Humphrey said that the letter of their release was sent to the command by the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy Committee on Monday.

    He said that the two former governors were pardoned on ill health and age grounds and were released immediately, but did not disclose the names of the three others

    “We have no right to hold them further as soon as we have the letter of clemency from the presidency.

    “If we do, it will be against their fundamental human rights.

    “They have left the facility today. We got the warrant of release today and have done the needful.

    “Dariye and Nyame were in Kuje custodial centre while the three others were in Suleja custodial centre,” he said.

    Newsmen reports that the ex-governors were among the 159 prisoners pardoned by the Council of State during a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on April 14.

    Jolly Nyame, 66, ex-governor of Taraba from 1999 to 2007, was serving a 12-year jail term at the Kuje prison over misappropriation of funds while he was in office.

    Mr Joshua Dariye, 64, who governed Plateau between 1999 and 2007, was also jailed for corruption during his time as governor between 1999 and 2007.

  • Two months after state pardon, Dariye, Nyame, others still in prison

    Despite the state pardon granted to 159 convicts, including a former Governor of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye, and a former Taraba State Governor, Jolly Nyame, two months ago, the duo are yet to be released from the Nigerian Correctional Service (prison).

     

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) gathered that the duo and other convicts could not be released by correctional service until a correspondence from the Ministry of Justice stating so was received.

     

    The Council of State led by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had on April 14 approved the pardon of the convicts, a decision which generated outcries.

     

    Nyame is serving a 12-year jail sentence for diverting N1.64 billion during his tenure as governor of Taraba, while Dariye is serving 10 years’ imprisonment for N1.126 billion fraud.

    Dariye

     

    But while justifying the clemency, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the president, Garba Shehu, had said it would have been insensitive for the President not to pardon the duo, saying that they had life-threatening illnesses.

     

    When contacted about why the two former governors were still in their custody, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Abubakar Umar, explained that the NCS was not responsible for the delay.

     

    Umar said, “Why they have not been released is because we are still waiting for correspondence from the Ministry of Justice. The moment we get that, we will effect their release. It is a presidential pardon, no doubt, but there must be a document to back their release. They can’t be released on pronouncement alone.”

     

    Meanwhile, there is palpable anger in the Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State over the non-release of Dariye from the correctional centre.

     

    Some kinsmens of Dariye, who served as a governor between 1999 and 2007 and hails from Mushere community in the Bokkos LGA, condemned how the Federal Government was handling his matter, describing his continued detention as strange.

  • Extend presidential pardon to petty thieves – Falana tells FG

    Extend presidential pardon to petty thieves – Falana tells FG

    Rights activist, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) on Friday in Ikeja urged the Federal Government to extend Thursday’s presidential pardon granted some top Nigerians, to people serving terms for petty offences.

    Falana made the call at the 1st anniversary of late Afenifere’s spokesman, Yinka Odumakin’s Lecture and Book Presentation.

    He said doing so for convicts without selectivity, and irrespective of class, would give a reflection of fairness and equality for all before the law.

    Recall that the Council of State granted presidential pardon to 159 convicts on Thursday.

    Among them were former governor of Plateau, Sen. Joshua Dariye and ex-Gov. Jolly Nyame of Taraba, who were both jailed for allegedly stealing N1.16 billion and N1.6 billion respectively.

    Falana also advised that there should no discrimination on the basis of belonging to the ruling class.

    “All petty thieves in our prisons should be released. Under Section 17 of the 1999 Constitution, there shall be equality and equal rights for all citizens.

    “Section 42 of the Constitution says there shall be no discrimination on the basis of class and gender, so you cannot take out a few people on the basis that they belong to a category or section of the society.

    “I can assure you that if the government did not release others, I am going to call on lawyers whose clients are left in custody to come to court and challenge the discriminatory treatment on their clients.

    “Just two weeks ago, a Nigerian was jailed for stealing N1,000 in Abuja; the accused pleaded with the judge that he had no food but the judge jailed him for six months.

    “When we are talking of justice and fair play, if you want to pardon some set of people, then you must also extend presidential pardon to petty thieves in the prisons.

    “This is because if the big thieves are being asked to go, then they must also extend the facility to other Nigerians,’’ the rights crusader said.

    Speaking on the passing of late Odumakin after a year, Falana described his loss as a monumental tragedy.

    “Yinka remained a symbol of justice and we are gathered to celebrate his legacy. He was a man of honour, hope and consistency; a man who gave hope to the masses,’’ he added.

    In his remarks, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, (APC- Central Senatorial), said the deceased was a friend who built bridges across ethnic and religious groups.

    “His legacy will still remain and the memory of his demise still lingers. My heart goes to his widow, Joe for staying strong after his demise,’’ the former Ogun governor said.

    Similarly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, the General Overseer of Citadel Global Community Church and a presidential hopeful, said late Odumakin was a fearless person who did not labour in vain, adding that his memory would linger for ever.

    Also, Dr Akinwunmi Adeshina, President, African Development Bank, said Odumakin was a respected rights activist and a democrat.

    Leader of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Chief Gani Adams, thanked Odumakin’s widow for erecting a legacy for the deceased.

    He noted that the Foundation would give room for generations to learn about what the deceased fought about.

    In her remarks, the widow, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, said her husband devoted to true federalism.

    She described her deceased husband as an encyclopaedia of positive activism.

    Late Odumakin, died in April 2, 2021, after battling with respiratory problems, occasioned by COVID-19 complications.

    Among the dignitaries at the event were Osun deputy governor, Mr Benedict Alabi, and the Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Mr Gbenga Omotosho.

  • Ex-Govs Dariye, Nyame jailed for corruption, 157 others get state pardon

    Ex-Govs Dariye, Nyame jailed for corruption, 157 others get state pardon

    The National Council of State has granted state pardon to former Governors Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame of Plateau and Taraba States respectively, who are serving terms in jail for corruption.

    Ex-Governors Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame, convicted for corruption, were pardoned on health and age grounds when they still have several years to complete their jail terms.

    The governors were among 159 prisoners pardoned by the Council at a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday.

    Among the beneficiaries are a former military general and minister under the Sani Abacha regime, Tajudeen Olanrewaju, an army lieutenant colonel, Akiyode, who was an aide of former deputy to General Abacha, Oladipo Diya; and all the junior officers jailed over the 1990 abortive Gideon Orkar coup.

    The full list of those pardoned is not immediately available.

    According to a presidency source, the two former governors were pardoned on health and age grounds.

    Mr Nyame, 66, governor of Taraba State from 1999 to 2007, was serving a 12-year jail term at the Kuje prison for misappropriation of funds while he was in office. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction in February 2020.

    Mr Dariye, 64, who governed Plateau between 1999 and 2007, was jailed for stealing N2 billion of public funds during his time as Plateau State governor 1999 and 2007.

    The former governor, elected as senator representing Plateau Central in the Senate in 2015, was sentenced in June 2018 but still completed his tenure in jail in June 2019.

    In 2021, he led a partly successful appeal at the Supreme Court with a five-man panel of the court headed by Mary Odili, quashing his conviction in respect of criminal misappropriation in a unanimous decision.

    The offences he was discharged of only attracted two years’ imprisonment and, so had no impact on his overall number of years of imprisonment. The apex upheld the ex-governor’s conviction in respect of criminal breach of trust, which attracted a 10-year jail term.

    Adebukola Banjoko of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, had on June 12, 2018, convicted Mr Dariye and originally sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment on charges of criminal breach of trust and two years jail term for criminal misappropriation.

    But following his appeal against the judgment, the Court of Appeal in Abuja on November 16, 2018, commuted the 14 years jail term to 10.

    While the Court of Appeal affirmed his conviction, it held that Section 416 (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, prohibited the imposition of a maximum sentence on a first offender, such as the convict.

    The former governor had appealed to the Supreme Court.

    Ejembi Emo, a member of the apex court’s panel noted that Mr Dariye’s appeal “succeeded in part” after quashing his conviction in respect of charges of criminal misappropriation.

    The meeting of the Council of State was attended by former presidents and military heads of state, except former President Olusegun Obasanjo who is in the United States on medical vacation.

    The Nigerian Council of State is an organ of the Nigerian Government as stipulated by Third Schedule Part 1B of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    The membership of the Council includes the President, who is Chairman; the Vice-President, who is Deputy Chairman; all former Presidents of the Federation and all former Heads of the Government of the Federation; all former Chief Justices of Nigeria; the President of the Senate; the Speaker of the House of Representatives; all the Governors of the states of the Federation; and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

    The Council has the power to:

    (a) advise the President in the exercise of his powers concerning the:-

    (i) national population census and compilation, publication and keeping of records and other information concerning the same;

    (ii) prerogative of mercy;

    (iii) award of national honours;

    (iv) the Independent National Electoral Commission (including the appointment of members of that Commission);

    (v) the National Judicial Council (including the appointment of the members, other than ex-officio members of that Council); and

    (vi) the National Population Commission (including the appointment of members of that Commission); and

    (b) advise the President whenever requested to do so on the maintenance of public order within the Federation or any part thereof and on such other matters as the President may direct.

  • Court grants FG ownership of Dariye’s Abuja mansion

    Court grants FG ownership of Dariye’s Abuja mansion

    A

    Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of the Abuja mansion owned by a former Plateau Governor, Joshua Dariye, to the Federal Government.

     

    In a judgment on Monday, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, dismissed an application by Dariye in which he had among others, prayed the court to release the property known as Plot 1802 A04, No: 19 Fredrick Chiluba Close, Asokoro, Abuja to him.

    Dariye is serving jail term following his successful prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on charges of criminal breach of trust and dishonest conversion of about N1.2billion belonging to Plateau State.

    Justice Egwuatu upheld the argument by a lawyer to the EFCC, Oluwaleke Atolagbe that Dariye’s claim that the property belonged to his company – Ebenezer Retnan Ventures – was false because the said company has been found to be a bogus entity.

    The judge found that an earlier interim forfeiture order on the property, obtained by the EFCC in the course of Dariye’s trial, was never contested.

    He added that in view of the finding by the trial court that was masquerading in the name of Ebenezer Retnan Ventures, an unregistered company and in whose name the property was acquired, he cannot claim legitimate ownership.

  • Police reveal identity of those who killed father of ex-Gov of Plateau

    Police reveal identity of those who killed father of ex-Gov of Plateau

    The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has released the identity of those who abducted and eventual murdered Pa Dariye Dafwan, the late father of former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the NPF made the revelation after operatives of the Intelligence Response Unit of the NPF made arrest of the eight (8) notorious high-profile kidnapping suspects.

    According to the NPF, the eight (8) notorious high-profile kidnapping suspects were indicted in police investigations for the abduction and eventual murder of Pa Dariye Dafwan.

    TNG reports Pa Dafwan was abducted on 17th June, 2020 and shot dead eight (8) days after the criminals hav​e collected a ransom of ten (10) million naira from the family of the deceased.

    The arrest of the suspects follows unrelenting efforts by the Police to ensure perpetrators of the dastardly act are arrested and made to face the wrath of the law.

    The breakthrough that led to the arrest of the suspects, TNG learnt, began with the arrest of one Abubakar Mohammed a.k.a Buba ‘m’ 23yrs, native of Gada Biyu in Daffo district, Bokkos LGA, Plateau State.

    “Buba is one of the principal suspects in the kidnap operation. The confession of the suspect which revealed how they abducted and murdered the nonagenarian, assisted the Police team in apprehending seven (7) other members of the gang – Ya’u Saidu aka Ya’u Kaban m’ 40yrs, from Kaban Village, Bokkos LGA, Plateau State, Titus Ezekiel 34yrs from from Horop, Bokkos LGA, Dauda Isah ‘m’ 30yrs, from Horop, Sunday Ibrahim m’ 35yrs, Mushere tribe from Horop, Mangut Shumwar ‘m’ 30yrs, from Horop, Henry Amos ‘m’ 35yrs native of Horop, and Jethro Ngusen ‘m’ 57yrs, native of Horop,” a statement by the police reads.

    According to the statement released by CP Frank Mba, Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, investigations further revealed that it was Jethro Ngusen, the mastermind and convener of the gang, that instructed one of the gang members, Mangut Shumwar to kill Pa Dariye, because he feared that Pa Dariye might recognize the suspects since majority of them are from the same village with the deceased.

    Jethro was also identified as the one who took custody of the ransom and later shared the proceeds of the crime amongst the gang members.

  • Supreme Court upholds 10-year sentence on ex-Gov Dariye

    Supreme Court upholds 10-year sentence on ex-Gov Dariye

    The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the 10- year conviction on Former Plateau Governor, Joshua Dariye.

    The 10-year imprisonment was for the offence of criminal breach of trust.

    A five-member panel of justices, led by Justice Mary Odili, in a unanimous judgment, held Dariye’s appeal in part, by setting aside the one-year sentence imposed on him by the Court of Appeal in relation to the offence of criminal misappropriation.

    The apex court upheld Dariye’s concurrent conviction and sentence by the trial court and the Court of Appeal on the offence of criminal breach of trust.

    Dariye had filed the appeal praying the court to set aside the Abuja Court of Appeal judgment that handed him a 10 year jail term.

    Dariye in his appeal, prayed the apex court to upturn the November 16, 2018 judgment of the lower court, which convicted him and sentenced him to 10 years for diverting public funds estimated at N1.162billion while he was the governor.

    Arguing the appeal before the Supreme Court on December 17, 2020, Dariye’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN), a former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), asked the court to either reverse his client’s conviction or reduce the 10-year jail term handed him by the lower court.

    Agabi, after adopting his written argument, prayed the court to allow his client’s appeal and set aside Dariye’s conviction and sentence.

    He argued that Dariye’s conviction was speculative and urged the court to show mercy.

    Agabi added, “Here is a man sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. 10 years is more than a lifetime for some people. You should show him mercy.”

    He, however, added that, should the court be minded to disallow the appeal and affirm the decision of the Court of Appeal, it should reduce the sentence substantially.

    Counsell to the respondent, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, countered and urged the court to dismiss the appeal and uphold the concurrent findings of the two lower courts.

    Jacobs contended that a public servant was not better than the common man in the eyes of the law.

    He added: “As for the sentence passed, it has been reduced to 10 years. That he is a public servant does not mean he should go free.”

    A five-member panel of justices, led by Justice Mary Odili, had, after hearing the appeal on Dec. 17, 2020, fixed judgment for March 12, 2021.

    A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Stephen Adah, in its decision, upheld an earlier judgment by Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), delivered on June 12, 2018.

    The trial court convicted Dariye on 15 counts relating to the offences of criminal breach of trust and criminal misappropriation, contained in the 23-count charge on which he was tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    In upholding Dariye’s conviction, the Court of Appeal noted that the prosecution, led by Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) effectively proved its allegation of criminal breach of trust and criminal misappropriation against the ex-governor.

    The Appeal Court, however, faulted the trial court for convicting Dariye on counts 12 and 23, which it said the prosecution did not prove.

    It also faulted the trial court for imposing the maximum sentences on both offences of criminal breach of trust and criminal misappropriation.

    The Appeal Court proceeded to reduce the 14 years sentence for the offence of criminal breach of trust to 10 years, and reduced the two years sentence for criminal misappropriation to one year.