Court jails Akwa Ibom governorship candidate 42 years for fraud

A federal high court in Akwa Ibom has sentenced Senator Bassey Albert, governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), to 42 years in prison for fraud.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had, in 2019, arraigned Albert on six counts of allegedly taking possession of six vehicles worth N204 million when he was a finance commissioner in the state.

He was said to have collected one of the vehicles from Jide Omokore, an associate of Diezani Alison Madueke, former minister of petroleum.

Omokore reportedly had dealings with the state when he offered Bassey the vehicle.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Agatha Okeke, the presiding judge, found the senator guilty of the offences.

Consequently, he was sentenced to Ikot Ekpene prison to serve his jail term.

Albert, a serving senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District, was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He, however, defected to the YPP in July, where he secured the party’s ticket for the 2023 governorship election.