Joshua Dariye, the former governor of Plateau State, has claimed that the events that led to his imprisonment were motivated by politics.
Dariye stated that as a chartered accountant, he would not have been foolish enough to operate in the manner that the allegations against him put it if he wanted to steal public funds, even though he emphasized his innocence in the N1.126 billion fraud charge that ultimately resulted in his imprisonment.
The former governor also made fun of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for turning into a helpful tool for his political foes, but he also said that he had given up all control to God.
According to Naija News, Dariye submitted the application on Channels Television’s Newsnight, a weekly pre-recorded show.
He stated, “My issue was political in the sense that Justice Liman dismissed that case when the same charge was brought to the Kaduna high court.”
They were dissatisfied, so they brought the same document to the Plateau state house of assembly, where they discussed N1.1 billion in total.
“If Mr. Dariye wanted to use the money for his own use, the judge asked if he would use his letterhead and tell the bank, “Pls distribute as follows?”
I wouldn’t have been so foolish as a chartered accountant.I would have put the money in commission and turnover if I had wanted to steal, but that never happened.
The EFCC, on the other hand, became the only real tool for prosecution because it was politically motivated.I trust God with the rest because I don’t think there was any sense of justice.The future will tell.
The EFCC brought charges against the then-Gov. of Plateau State, The Journey To Jail Dariye, in 2007 for allegedly diverting N1.126 billion from the ecological fund of the state government.
In June of 2018, Justice Adebukola Banjoko of a high court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) gave Dariye a sentence of 14 years in prison.
An Abuja-based Appeal Court reduced the sentence to ten years in November 2018.
The Supreme Court upheld the appellate court’s decision in March 2021.
Freedom, on the other hand, Dariye and other individuals, including former Taraba State Governor Jolly Nyame, were granted a state pardon in April 2022 by the council of state led by President Muhammadu Buhari on the grounds of age and poor health.
In the end, Dariye was let out of prison in August 2022.