Court Jails APC Chieftain For Vote Buying

Court Jails APC Chieftain For Vote Buying

Wahab Hammed, a ward Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos State, has been sentenced by the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja.

The court handed down a one-year jail term or a fine of N1 million to Hammed after convicting him on charges of conspiracy and bribery.

The EFCC Prosecutor, Samuel Daji, informed the court during the arraignment that on February 25, 2023, the defendant conspired with one Segun Ijitola (who is still at large) to corruptly pay bribes to voters during the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly Elections at Unit 28, Gbaja Girls Junior High School in Surulere.

The charges brought against Hammed contravene the provisions of Sections 121 (1) and (5) as well as 121 (1) and 1 (3) of the Electoral Act 2022. Hammed pleaded guilty, and the court adjourned the proceedings until Thursday, December 7th, to allow the prosecution counsel to review the case facts for conviction and sentencing.

During Thursday’s proceedings, the EFCC counsel, Daji, presented the statement of the review of the prosecution’s facts against the defendant in court.

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Daji also told the court that, “The EFCC officers while on election monitoring duties during the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly Election held on the 25th February 2023, received an intelligence report that certain individuals were involved in vote buying and bribery at Polling Unit 28 located at Gbaja Girls High School, Surulere, Lagos.

“After the receipt of the intelligence, the operatives of EFCC who were on election monitoring duties were dispatched to the venue.

“On sighting the operatives, the voters involved in vote buying took to their heels but the defendant was arrested with the sum of N121,000 in N500 denominations.

“He was brought to the EFCC’s Ikoyi office with the exhibit. When he was interviewed, he stated that he is a ward leader of APC in Unit F3 in Surulere, Lagos and he confessed that the money was given to him by one Hon. Segun Ijitola who is a Senior Special Assistant to Chairman Surulere Local Government.

“He admitted that he had shared part of the money to those who ran away and it was to bribe the voters to vote for his party, APC.

“He also admitted that he had spent part of the money. He made voluntary statements of at least 2 pages where he admitted these facts. He also admitted that he is ready to forfeit the sum found with him to the Federal Government being proceeds of criminal activities”.

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The court accepted the defendant’s statements as evidence and admitted the money recovered from him as an exhibit. The prosecutor urged the court to accept the presented facts, convict the defendant accordingly, and order the forfeiture of the exhibit to the Federal Government as proceeds of crime.

The defendant, expressing his understanding of the facts presented by the prosecutor through an interpreter, reiterated his guilty plea. Satisfied that the defendant clearly comprehended the facts against him and intended to admit guilt, Justice Ijelu found him guilty and convicted him accordingly.

The defendant pleaded for mercy. He told the court, “I have never been arrested. If not for the situation of the country, I would not be in this situation. I’m over 70 years old. I’m not fit, I have high blood pressure, ulcer and urinary incontinence and if not for this case, I was to undergo surgery last Saturday. I have not been well since my arrest, and I plead with the court to forgive me.

“I wouldn’t be here in this situation if my children were doing well and working. I have six children who are well-educated and their mom is no more, she is late.”

The defense counsel, Mr. Olaniyi Ademola, emphasized in his statement that the client voluntarily chose to plead guilty. He pointed out that the client was a first-time offender with no prior convictions.

During the sentencing, Justice Ijelu reminded the defense counsel of his duty to society in speaking truth to his clients. He reiterated that all parties involved must be partners in nation-building.

He said, “The defendant has further put himself deeply in the mess that contributed to his children not having jobs by taking to crime. Is that the solution?

“The court has listened to the allocutus of the convict, that he is a first offender and has no criminal record. He also appears to be remorseful.

“S 121 (1) (c) of the Electoral Act 2022 under which the convict was charged states that “any person who advances or pays or causes to be paid any money to any person with the intent that such money shall be expended in bribery at any election, commits an offence and is liable on conviction of a maximum fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both.

“This section gives the court a discretionary power to exercise. The court finds high culpability on the part of the convict, the harm occasioned by his conduct is significant. The court found no aggravating factor against him.

“In mitigating the sentence, the court considers that he made a guilty plea and has no previous convictions and he is a first offender.

“There’s no doubt that the need to sanitize our electoral process cannot be over-emphasized. Having pleaded guilty, the court takes the view that imposing a non-custodial sentence on this convict may deter him from future misconduct.

“For this reason, Alhaji Wahab Olaniyi Hammed is sentenced to a term of imprisonment for one year or an option of 500,000 on each of the two counts against him. He shall forfeit the proceeds of the crime to the FG.

“He shall also undertake to the EFCC in writing to always be of good behaviour and to never indulge in crime again.”

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