Thursday, September 11, 2025 - The Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, arraigned one Esther Ashivelli Dawaki and Shehu Aliyu Fatange before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja for financial crimes.
Ms Dawaki was the People's Democratic Party (PDP) House of
Representatives candidate for Chikun/Kajuru in the bye election held in
August.
The opposition party had earlier accused security operatives
of ‘abducting’ Ms Dawaki.
According to the commission, Dawaki and Fatange are facing
prosecution on a five-count charge, bordering on accepting and making cash
payments in excess of the amount authorised by law, conspiracy and money
laundering to the tune of N26 million (Twenty Six million Naira).
Count one of the charge reads: “That you, Esther Ashivilli
Dawaki (F) and other, now at large on or about 16th of August, 2025 at Kaduna
within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did procure one Shehu Aliyu
Fatange (M) to commit an offence to wit: accepting cash payment of the sum of
N26,000,000.00 (Twenty-six Million Naira, only), without going through a
financial institution, which sum exceeded the amount authorised by the law and
you thereby committed 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 charge reads: “That you, Shehu Aliyu Fatange (M) on
or about the 16th of August, 2025 at Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this
Honourable Court, did accept cash payment of the sum of N26,000,000.00 (Two-Six
Million Naira, only), which exceeds the amount authorised by the law to one
Esther Ashivelli dawaki (F) and you thereby committed an offence 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.”
They both pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, following
which prosecution counsel, M. O, Arumemi asked the court for a trial date and
for the defendants to be remanded in a correctional centre.
While counsel to the defendants, E. N. Ogbu and A.A. Ashat
had no objections, they made oral applications for their bail. They asked for a
short adjournment as well as for the defendants to be remanded in EFCC’s
holding facility, pending determination of the bail applications.
Justice Nwite ordered for the remand of Dawaki, the first
defendant in the Suleja Correctional Center, while he ordered that Fatange, the
second defendant be remanded in Kuje Correctional Center and adjourned the
matter till Monday, September 15, 2025 for the hearing of the bail application.
The suspects were arrested on August 16, 2025, following
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), which they kept inside a Toyota Corolla 2010 model, belonging to Shehu
and packed within a hotel premises in Kaduna.
While Fatange upon arrest, identified himself as the
director general of the campaign office of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP
flag-bearer in the the Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency bye-election which
held on the same August 16, 2025, the sum was suspected to have been earmarked
for vote buying in the said election.
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