When President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in 2015 as Nigeria’s president, he highlighted three cardinal plans as the focus of his administration: Security, anti-corruption fight, and the resuscitation of the economy.
The president particularly focused on the war against corruption, saying that corruption will kill Nigeria if Nigeria does not kill corruption. Having served out his first term and successfully getting re-elected for the second term, the fight against corruption has seen some heavyweight politicians convicted. Some convictions were also recorded before his administration.
In this piece, we highlight some former governors who have been successfully tried for corruption and jailed afterward.
- Orji Uzor Kalu: Kalu, a former governor of Abia state, was found guilty of N7.65 billion fraud and was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. The prison sentence also came with multiple sentences between three and five years.
Orji-Kalu
2. Joshua Dariye: Dariye, is a former governor of Plateau state. He was a serving senator in 2018 when he was sentenced to 14 years in prison over criminal breach of trust and two years for misappropriation of public funds, to run concurrently. He was accused of embezzling N1.162 billion ecological funds belonging to his state. His jail term was later recently reduced to 10 years.
3. Jolly Nyame: Nyame is a former governor of Taraba state. He was sent to 14 years in prison in 2018 without an option of fine after being found guilty of 27 out of 41 counts of alleged diversion of public funds while he served as governor of Taraba state.
4.James Bala Ngilari: Ngilari, a former governor of Adamawa state, was in 2017, sentenced to jail for 5 years without an option of fine for defrauding his state of N167 million.
5.Lucky Igbinedion: Igbinedion, a former governor of Edo state was sentenced to six months imprisonment in 2008, well before President Buhari’s administration, for money laundering worth N25 billion. He, however, got a plea bargain that made him pay a fine of N3.5 million.
6. James Ibori: Ibori, a former governor of Delta State, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for money laundering by a London court for laundering $250 million. Ibori has since completed his time in jail and returned to Nigeria to a ‘heroic welcome’.
7. Late Diepreye Alamieyesegha: Alamieyesegha, a former Bayelsa governor, was sentenced to jail for 2 years, based on a plea bargain after he was found guilty of laundering N3.7 billion.
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