A SERVING Deputy Director of the Niger State Ministry of Land Transportation, Umar Shehu Farouk, has been sentenced to 7 years imprisonment.
Farouk was sentenced by the State High Court in Minna for demanding and receiving gratification of N11 million from a contractor.
He was charged with a seven-count offence bordering on gratification and conferment of corrupt advantage upon himself.
A statement issued by ICPC spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, revealed the development on Friday.
Our soourcr reports that the ICPC Prosecutor, Osuobeni Ekoi Akpos, told the court how Farouk committed the offence.
He said while serving as the Deputy Director of Land Transport for the Niger State Ministry of Land Transportation in 2016, Farouk collected the sum of Eleven Million Naira (N11,000,000) as bribe from a contractor.
The said bribe was meant for the award of contract for the registration of Auto Mechanic Workshops.
It was also meant to serve as registration of Auto Spare Parts Dealers, registration of Motorcycle/Tricycle Dealers and registration of Color Code Certification for Commercial Transport operators.
The prosecution explained to the court how the convict had received money on different occasions.
The convict was said to have received the bribe in bits of “One Hundred Thousand Naira (N100,000), Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000), Four Hundred Thousand Naira (N400,000), etc. “
The bribe, said to be N11 million in total, was received from one Oyabambi Bolaji Stephen on behalf of Boyabam Services Global Limited in exchange for a contract.
The court was also informed that the said action of the convict was in contravention of Sections 8 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under the same Act.
The trial Judge stated that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, and therefore, found the Deputy Director guilty on all the seven counts and sentenced him to 7 years imprisonment each for counts one to six and 5 years imprisonment for count seven. All the sentences are to run concurrently.
Farouk was first arraigned in July, 2020 by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences before Justice Abdullahi Mikail.
One of the charges read against Farouk said: “That you Umar Shehu Farouk (M) sometime in March, 2016 or thereabout, while being in the employment of the Niger State Government as Deputy Director, Land Transport, at Minna, Niger State Capital, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court corruptly received the sum of N500,000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) from one Oyabambi Bolaji Stephen on behalf of Boyabam Services Global Limited for yourself through your United Bank for Africa (UBA) account no, in relation to the award of contract for the registration of Auto Mechanic Workshops, the registration of Auto Spare Parts Dealers, the registration of Motorcycle/Tricycle Dealers and registration of the Color Code Certification for commercial transport operators and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 8(1)(a)(ii) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000”.