The Federal High Court sitting in Jos, the Plateau State capital, on Tuesday sentenced a former Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, to three months imprisonment for N450 million fraud.
Also, the court sentenced a former Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Raymond Dabo, and Evangelist Leo Sunday Jitung to three months imprisonment.
The three respondents in the case, Ochekpe, Dabo and Jitung had entered a plea of no case submission.
Justice Musa Kurna who delivered the judgment gave them an option of of N1 million fine.
The judge held that the trio were guilty of withdrawing the N450 million which he said was above what an individual can withdraw.
According to the judge the convicts withdrew the money and delivered it to a governorship candidate and were therefore not guilty of retaining it for themselves.
He said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 16(1) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2013 as amended.
The offence carries a minimum of three years imprisonment or a N10 million fine.
The three had been standing trial for the past four years on charges bordering on conspiracy and money laundering.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had charged the three of them to court with conspiracy and money laundering in 2018.
