By Adedapo Adesanya
The Supreme Court has affirmed the six years of imprisonment imposed on a former Federal Director of Pensions (FDP), Mr John Yakubu Yusuf, and also ordered him to refund the sum of N22.9 billion to the federal government.
The N22.9 billion was part of the police pension fund he admitted before a high court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja to have been misappropriated.
Justice Tijjani Abubakar in a judgment on Wednesday, following an appeal filed by Mr Yusuf, upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal which in 2018 sent him to six years imprisonment in addition to the refund of the sum.
The apex court held that Mr Yusuf and others engaging in fraudulent practices must be told through court judgments that it is no longer business as usual.
Justice Abubakar said that the appeal of the ex-pension director seeking to set aside the six years of jail term against him was frivolous and devoid of merit.
He further held that victims of the convicted director deserve restitution which can only be achieved through justice.
Mr Yusuf had dragged the federal government before the apex court seeking to overturn the six years of imprisonment slammed on by the Court of Appeal.
The former federal civil servant, who is serving a six years jail term at the Kuje correctional facility, also asked the Supreme Court to set aside a whopping sum of N22.9 billion he was ordered to refund to the government treasury by the Court of Appeal in a 2018 judgment.
He was sent to prison in 2018 by the Court of Appeal in Abuja upon being found guilty of defrauding the federal government to the tune of N22.9 billion through police pensions.
Modupe Gbadeyanka