Court Grants Senator Bassey Akpan Post-conviction Bail

Akwa Ibom State Governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Senator Bassey Albert Akpan has been granted post-conviction bail by the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, South-South Nigeria.

He was granted bail on health grounds and is set to be released from the University Teaching Hospital Uyo where he was taken for check-up after his health reportedly deteriorated while at the Ikot Ekpene Custodial Centre.

Senator Akpan was convicted on December 1, 2022 by the Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and sentenced to 42 years in prison.

He was charged by the EFCC for receiving 12 cars worth N254 million from oil magnate Olajide Omokore, while he served as State Commissioner for Finance under the Godswill Akpabio administration.

Akpan is currently the senator representing Akwa Ibom North East in the Nigerian senate.

While reacting to the bail, Akpan, who is also a governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) for the 2023 election in Akwa Ibom State,  wrote in a Facebook post: “In every situation, God has something to say. It’s all about God. That same God.”

-diplomatic diary