Former Federal Lawmaker in Akwa Ibom, Senator Albert Bassey has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment for receiving bribes of 12 cars worth N254 million as Commissioner for Finance in Akwa Ibom State.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria, on Friday, February 27, 2026, affirmed the decision of the trial Court and the Court of Appeal of the conviction and sentence, and also ordered the restitution of the sum of ₦204m to Akwa Ibom State.
The Supreme Court, having reviewed the appeal, affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal and restored the order of restitution made by the High Court, which the Court of Appeal had ignored.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a statement on Friday, said the decision of the five-man panel of the apex court was delivered by Justice Stephen Jonah Adah.
“The order of this court is that the conviction and sentencing imposed by lower court on the 23 day of June 2023 on the appellant is hereby affirmed but the order of the lower court avoiding the order of restitution given by the trial court did not follow the law, so it is revised and the right order is to nullify same and thereby the restitution of sum of N204 million the made by the trial court is restored”, Justice Adah ruled.
The prosecution of Bassey by the EFCC, led by prosecution counsel Ekele Iheanacho (SAN), before Justice Agatha Okeke, commenced at the Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, for receiving bribes.
He was convicted on all seven charges and sentenced to seven years in prison for each, totalling 42 years, on Thursday, December 1, 2022.
However, the defendant appealed to the appellate court, where a three-man panel led by Justice Rapheal Chikwe Agbo upheld the conviction but imposed a fine, before the apex court struck out the judgment in part.
Veteran journalist and recipient of A.B.C Yola, Reporter of the Year Award (1997), Hassan Umar Shallpella, works with WAP as a Regional Correspondence. He was trained at Institute of Mass Communication and Technology Jos and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Training School Lagos.He was a News desk Editor and a Correspondent at the Punch newspaper and till 2019, was the Deputy Editor ofThe Scope newspaper.
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