Two chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Bauchi State, Aminu Umar Gadiya and Saleh Hussaini Gamawa have been convicted by a Federal High Court, Bauchi and sentenced to two years imprisonment for offences that bordered on conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N142, 460,000.

Justice Hassan Dikko convicted Gamawa and Gadiya on March 2, while ruling on the 2-count charge brought against the defendants by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

This was disclosed in a statement on Saturday by INEC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren.

The defendants were first arraigned on June 4, 2018 and re-arraigned on October 16, 2018 on a two count charge for purportedly receiving over N142million to influence the result of the 2015 presidential elections in Bauchi State.

The sentences of the duo are to run concurrently starting from March 2, 2023.

The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges against them, setting the stage for the case to proceed to full trial.

However, at the close of evidence, the final written addresses were filed, exchanged and adopted on January 17, this year, with the prosecution asking the court to convict the defendants as charged.

Justice Dikko, however, reserved judgment for March 2, 2023.