Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court Lagos Friday convicted Mr. Raymond Omatseye,  former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) over a N1.5 billion contract scam during his tenure.

Mr. Omatseye has been drawn in a long legal battle at the behest of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 27-count charge verging on contract-splitting and juggling of a bidding process which the anti-crime agency said undermined  due process.

The judge subsequently sentenced him to 5 years in prison.

He was found guilty in counts 1-20, 23, 24 and 26, while he was freed on counts 21, 22, and 27.

He was sentenced to 5 years on each of the counts without an option of fine but there were strong indications from his legal team that he might appeal the judgment.