JUSTICE TALBA BAGS ONE YEAR SUSPENSION WITHOUT PAY

Pension Thief John Yusufu

National Judicial Council, NJC has wielded the big stick against Justice Abubakar Talba of an Abuja High Court, after he was found guilty of handing an “unreasonable” sentence to a self confessed pension thief, John Yakubu Yusufu.

The Council suspended the embattled trial Judge for one year, saying he should not be entitled to any form of remuneration within the period.

Talba had on January 28, directed Yusufu to pay a fine of N750, 000, shortly after the accused person who was a former Deputy Director in the pension office, admitted before the trial court that he conspired with six other civil servants and stole about N23billion from the Police Pension Fund.

Though section 309 of the Criminal Procedure Act, CPA, upon which the accused person was charged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, gave the court the choice of sentencing the accused to a maximum of two years imprisonment with a fine, however, Justice Talba, used his discretion and ordered Yusufu to  only pay fine and go home.