Senator Bassey Akpan, the governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Akwa Ibom State, has been sentenced to 42 years in prison for corruption by the Federal High Court in Uyo on Thursday.
The presiding judge, Justice Agatha Okeke, convicted the candidate on six counts bordering on money laundering, including graft.
The YPP candidate was taken to the Ikot-Ekpene Custodial Centre, where he would serve the jail term.
Akpan, who is the Senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East (Uyo), was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on June 24, 2019 on charges of corruption over the receipt of exotic vehicles estimated at over N204m.
In May 2010, Akpan, who was then the Commissioner for Finance, Akwa Ibom State, was alleged to have received from one Jide Omokore a BMW X5 (bullet-proof car) worth N50m; in December 2012, another Infinity QX56 (bullet-proof) worth N45m was also received from the same source.
Again, in November 2013, he received a Toyota Landcruiser V8 (bullet-proof) valued at N40m and in March 2014, he received a Range Rover, valued at N40m; in September 2014, another Toyota Hiace High Roof bus valued at N27m was received from the businessman.
The senator was also alleged to have received, at different times between 2012 and 2014, Toyota Hiace High Roof buses valued at N16m and six units of Toyota Hilux vehicles valued at N36m.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, the court ruled that Akpan must serve seven years in prison for each of the six counts. The jail term is to run concurrently.
The judge did not include the option of a fine.
