Court convicts ex-LG chairman over N13m SUV

A former Chairman of Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, Alhassan Yahaya Bagudu, has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment for making false statement to an investigator.

Justice M. AbdulGarfa of Ilorin High Court gave the verdict.

Bagudu was charged to court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on a two-count charge bordering on making false statement to an investigator of the commission.

Bagudu had pleaded not guilty when the charge was first read to him which set the tone for the trial.

During the trial, ICPC counsel, Peace Arocha and Golden Iwuagwu, told the court how the former local government chairman had purchased a used Toyota Prado Jeep for his official use at the sum of N13 million whereas the approval was for a brand new jeep.

The court also heard how Bagudu, in count two, claimed that the jeep was purchased by Quadrish Motors while knowing same to be false thereby making false statement to a constituted authority.

Part of the charge reads: “That you Alhassan Yahaya Bagudu (M) sometime in April 2018 or thereabout at Ilorin, Kwara State did knowingly made false statement to Adamu Lere Murtala, an investigating officer of ICPC in the exercise of his duties as an investigator when you asserted that the Toyota Prado jeep that was bought for your office as the Chairman of Kaiama Local Government was supplied by Quadrish Motors when in actual fact the Toyota Prado jeep was not supplied by Quadrish Motors….”

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The court was told that the action of the former chairman was in contravention of Section 25 (1) (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 and punishable under the same Section.

The trial judge found Bagudu guilty on count two and sentenced him to one-year imprisonment with an option of fine of N100,000.

TheStar