From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Supreme Court has fixed April 22 for final judgment in an appeal filed by a former Federal Director of Pension, Mr John Yusuf challenging his six years imprisonment by the Court of Appeal.
Yusuf who was twice convicted by the court is also contesting an order of the Court of Appeal, Abuja division that he should refund to the federal government N22.9Bn he admitted to have been diverted for personal use.
Justice Mohammed Musa Dattijo who led a 5-man panel of Justices of the Supreme Court fixed the date after taking arguments from counsel to the federal government Mr Oluwaleke Atolagbe and Theodore Maiyaki who stood for the jailed Director of Pension.
John Yakubu who is the appellant is praying the Supreme Court to set aside a judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja which sentenced him to six cumulative years of imprisonment and also ordered him to refund N22.9Bn to the federal government.
The former Director of Pension had at a high court of the Federal Capital Territory FCT in a plea bargain arrangements admitted diverting to personal use, N22.9Bn being pension fund entrusted to him by the federal government.
His admission of guilt at the high court followed a 3-count criminal charges bothering on breach of trust, diversion of N32.8Bn pension fund among others, brought against him by the federal government.
He was on January 28, 2013 subsequently jailed two years by Justice Abubakar Talba but granted an option of N750,000 fine in lieu of the imprisonment.
However upon an appeal by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, the Court of Appeal on March 21, 2018 reversed the high court judgment and nullified it.
The Appeal Court stressed that the sentence of the high court did not serve as deterrence to both the convict and others.
In its place, the Court of Appeal imposed a jail term of six years on him and also ordered him to return N22.9Bn to the federal government as the complainant.
However, in his appeal at the Supreme Court, Yusuf who is currently serving six years jail term at Kuje prison argued that the Court of Appeal in Abuja was too harsh in its judgment against him.
He asked the Apex Court to void the judgment so as not to make him suffer double jeopardy.