A Jos Chief Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday sentenced four persons to various jail terms with option of fines for bribing police officers, who arrested them with N150.000.
The convicts, Mohammed Sani (32), Yusuf Musa (34), Aliyu Shehu (33) and Suleiman Saidu (26), all of Bukuru town in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau, were originally arrested for stealing NITEL cables.
In their attempt to buy their freedom, they offered N150,000 as bribe to the police officers who arrested them.
They were consequently tried and sentenced for the two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and offering of gratification, contrary to section 97 (1) and 167 of the Penal code.
The Prosecuting State Counsel, Mr Ambrose Eguh, had told the court that the convicts were arrested on Sept. 16 at a NITEL site, around the Secretariat Junction, Jos by a team of police officers, led by one Daniel Dana.
He said that while under interrogation in police detention, they offered the police officers in charge of the case N150,000 as bribe to facilitate their release, which they collected and used as evidence for their arraignment.
Eguh said the 1st accused, Sani, had once been convicted by a court for a similar offence, but had refused to change his ways.
The Chief Magistrate’s, Helen Danboyi, sentenced the accused to various jail terms ranging from four months to five months on each count with option of fines.
Sani was sentenced to 12 months with an option of N2,000 fine, while the three others were sentenced to nine months each with an option of N2,000 fine.
Danboyi said the prison terms were to run concurrently.
Mr Chindak Dakas, the Defence Counsel, pleaded with the court to release the N150,000 bribe money to the convicts, claiming that the money belonged to somebody who gave it to Sani for the purchase of beans.
The magistrate, however, ruled that “a convict should not be allowed to benefit from his crime”.
She directed that 10 per cent of the amount be put in the Police Trust Fund, and the rest in the Account of Plateau Government.
She commended the police officers for demonstrating an act of patriotism by refusing the bribe and going ahead to prosecute the offenders.