A former Administrative Secretary with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kwara State, Christian Nwosu, has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court in Lagos had on Thursday, found Mr Nwosu guilty of benefiting from a sum of $115.01m which a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, doled out to compromise the 2015 elections.
Justice Mohammed, on Friday, also sentenced to seven years a co-accused former INEC official, Tijani Bashir.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the defendants conspired to directly take possession of N264,880,000, which they reasonably ought to have known formed part of an unlawful act.
Nwosu had initially pleaded guilty to receiving N30million bribe from Mrs Alison-Madueke to rig the 2015 general election results at his arraignment on April 5, 2017.
He then changed his plea to not guilty when he was re-arraigned.
Bashir was accused of indirectly taking possession of and retaining N164,880,000, which he reasonably ought to have known to be an offence.
The alleged offences were committed on March 27 and April 7, 2015 and violated provisions of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act.
Handing the final verdict on Friday, Justice Idris sentenced Nwosu to seven years imprisonment on counts one and two, and five years on counts three and four.
He sentenced Bashir to seven years on count five, and seven years on counts six, seven and eight.
Justice Idris sentenced them both to seven years each on count nine.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of a property in Asaba, Delta State, worth N25million, as well as N5million cash seized from Nwosu.
Bashir is also to lose his Abuja property.
The sentences are to run concurrently, the judge held.
