A’court orders Nyame to pay N495m fine, reduces his sentence to 12 years

The court of appeal in Abuja has ordered Jolly Nyame, a former governor of Taraba state, to pay a fine of N495 million.

The court ordered the ex-governor to pay the fine for misappropriating funds while he was in charge of Taraba.

In May, a high court of the federal capital territory (FCT) sentenced Nyame to 14 years in prison for fraud.

He was charged on 41 counts of fraud but was found guilty on 27.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged Nyame to court for allegedly diverting N1.64 billion while he served as governor of Taraba between 1999 and 2007.

The court found Nyame guilty of breach of trust involving his alleged fraudulent approval of N250m for the purchase of stationery and office equipment in 2004.

During the trial, the commission presented various witnesses who said the ex-governor approved the diversion of various funds amounting to over N345 million to a company, Saman Global, within five weeks in 2005.

Nyame appealed the sentence.

At the court on Friday, the panel led by Emmanual Agim, a judge, reduced the 14-year sentence by two years.