The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of two people allegedly arrested with N26 million cash during the last Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency by-election in Kaduna State.
Trial judge Emeka Nwite gave the remand order after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned the duo – Esther Ashivelli Dawaki and Shehu Fatange – on Wednesday.
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They were arraigned on five counts of money laundering, involving N26 million cash allegedly meant for vote buying. The defendants denied all the charges.
They were arraigned in Abuja instead of Kaduna due to ongoing judges’ vacation. The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court was designated to hear emergency cases from Abuja and its environs during the judges’ vacation which ends later this month.
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The commission said in a statement on Wednesday that its operatives arrested them on 16 August, during the by-election for Kaduna State’s Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives.
The by-election was part of 16 rerun polls conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on 16 August.
EFCC said Mr Fantage identified himself as the Director General of the campaign office of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency by-election.
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The PDP lost the rerun poll to the All Progressives Congress (APC), which swept most of the by-elections held that day across different state and federal constituencies in many states.
How defendants were arrested
EFCC said the arrest of the defendants followed “credible intelligence that exposed them to have possessed the sum of N26,463,000.00 (Twenty-six Million Four Hundred and Sixty-three Thousand Naira).” EFCC said it suspected the money was meant for vote buying.
According to the commission, the defendants kept the money inside a Toyota Corolla 2010 model, belonging to Mr Fatange, and packed within a hotel premises in Kaduna, the Kaduna State capital.
Charges
The five charges filed against the defendants includes alleging that Ms Dawaki procured Mr Fatange to accept a cash payment of N26 million on 16 August in Kaduna, without going through a financial institution. The prosecution said the money exceeded the cash transactions limit authorised by the law. It said the act constituted an offence contrary to Section 21(C )(a) and 19(1)(d) of Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.
Another count accuses Mr Fatange of directly accepting the funds from Ms Dawaki, a cash amount said to be far above legal limits. The offence is also said to be contrary to Sections 2(1)(a) and 19(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.
The two defendants pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
Remand
The prosecution counsel, M. O. Arumemi, asked the court for a trial date and for the defendants to be remanded in a correctional centre.
Defence lawyers – E. N. Ogbu and A.A. Ashat – made oral applications for their clients’ bail.
They also appealed to the court to remand their clients in EFCC custody pending determination of the bail applications.
Trial judge, Mr Nwite, ordered the remand of Ms Dawaki in the Suleja Correctional Centre and Mr Fatange in Kuje Correctional Centre.
He then adjourned the matter until 15 September for the hearing of the defendants’ bail applications.
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