Nigeria, May 7 -- The Gombe State High Court in Gombe, the state capital, has sentenced a magistrate, Mohammad Kumo, to two years and six months in prison for bribery.

Delivering judgement on Wednesday, the trial judge, H.H. Kereng, however gave the convict and option of N250,000 in lieu of imprisonment.

He also ordered him to pay N500,000 compensation to the victim of his crime.

The judge held that the prosecution proved its case and that the gravity of the offence warranted punishment.

"I hereby convict you for the offence of corruption under Section 10(a)(i)(ii) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000," the judge said, according to a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday....