Abuja, Nigeria – The Supreme Court of Nigeria has officially affirmed the conviction and seven-year prison sentence of Senator Albert Bassey over a massive financial fraud case.
In a decisive ruling, the nation’s highest court also restored a judicial order compelling the embattled lawmaker to return the sum of 204 million naira to the Akwa Ibom State Government.
Okay News reports that the final judgment was delivered on Friday, February 27, 2026, by a five-member panel of the apex court.
Reading the lead judgment, Justice Stephen Jonah Adah upheld the earlier guilty verdicts but specifically overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision that had previously nullified the trial court’s mandate for financial restitution, thereby ensuring the state recovers the illicitly acquired funds.
The senator’s legal downfall stems from his prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for receiving 12 luxury vehicles worth 254 million naira as bribes during his tenure as the Commissioner for Finance in Akwa Ibom State.
He was initially convicted on seven counts of money laundering and sentenced by a Federal High Court in Uyo in December 2022, marking the definitive end to his protracted legal battle.
