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By Our Reporter
The Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a ward leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the Surulere Local Government Area of the state, Wahab Hammed, to a one-year jail term for vote buying.
The presiding judge, Justice Ismail Ijelu, sentenced the APC chieftain after convicting him on a two-count charge of conspiracy and bribery preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
At his arraignment on Wednesday, December 6, the EFCC counsel, Samuel Daji, told the court that Hammed, on February 25, 2023, conspired with one Segun Ijitola (who is still at large) to corruptly pay bribe to voters during the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
Daji said the defendant committed the offence at Unit 28, Gbaja Girls Junior High School, in Surulere, Lagos State.
The offences, according to him, contravene the provision of Sections 121 (1) and (5); 121 (1) and 1 (3) of the Electoral Act 2022.
The defendant pleaded guilty and the court subsequently adjourned till Thursday, December 7, to enable the prosecution counsel to review the facts of the case preparatory to conviction and sentencing.
At the proceedings on Thursday, Daji tendered in court the statement of the review of the prosecution’s facts against the defendant.
On his part, the APC chieftain admitted that he understood the facts as presented by the prosecutor through an interpreter and he reiterated his guilty plea.
The defence counsel, Olaniyi Ademola, prayed the court to note that his client voluntarily decided to plead guilty.
He added that the defendant was a first-time offender who had never been convicted before.
However, Justice Ijelu said: “The defendant has further put himself deeply in the mess that contributed to his children not having jobs by taking to crime. Is that the solution?
“The court has listened to the allocutus of the convict, that he is a first offender and has no criminal record. He also appears to be remorseful.
“S 121 (1) (c) of the Electoral Act 2022 under which the convict was charged states that ‘any person who advances or pays or causes to be paid any money to any person with the intent that such money shall be expended in bribery at any election, commits an offence and is liable on conviction of a maximum fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both’.
“This section gives the court a discretionary power to exercise. The court finds high culpability on the part of the convict, the harm occasioned by his conduct is significant. The court found no aggravating factor against him.
“In mitigating the sentence, the court considers that he made a guilty plea and has no previous convictions and he is a first offender.
“There’s no doubt that the need to sanitize our electoral process cannot be over-emphasized. Having pleaded guilty, the court takes the view that imposing a non-custodial sentence on this convict may deter him from future misconduct.
“For this reason, Alhaji Wahab Olaniyi Hammed is sentenced to a term of imprisonment for one year or an option of 500,000 on each of the two counts against him. He shall forfeit the proceeds of the crime to the federal government.
“He shall also undertake to the EFCC in writing to always be of good behaviour and to never indulge in crime again.”
