Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arraigned a former governor of Kano state, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, along with three others for allegedly converting N950 million to personal use.
The two others are; Ambassador Aminu Bashir Wali and Engr. Mansur Ahamed, standing trial before a Federal High Court in Kano, on a six – count charge, bordering on money laundering, conspiracy and concealment of the sum in the personal residence of the former governor. Reading the charges to the three accused persons before the presiding judge, Justice Zainab Abubakar Bagi, EFCC’s prosecution counsel, Barrister Johson Ojogbane, said the commission had suffi cient and incontrovertible legal premise to believe that the N950m in question was obtained from the immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Dezieni Allison Madueke, through illegitimate financialtransaction
. According to him, such a transaction should have been conducted within the confines of the stipulated laws of legitimate financial transaction for any foul play to be avoided, stressing that since the money was obtained without acceding to procedures of legitimate financial transaction, the accusation of money laundering established against the accused persons was plausible.
With the six-count charge read out to the trio by the EFCC prosecution counsel, Ojogbana, they all pleaded not guilty to all the charges. In his submission and eventual bail application fi led before the court on behalf of his clients, the defence counsel, Barr Ologunolisa Sam (SAN) told the court that there was sufficient ground to suggest that the offences allegedly committed were bailable, citing section 35/36 of the constitution and section 162 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
In her submission, the presiding judge, Zainab Abubakar Bagi, listed conditions to be fulfilled by the applicants before they were granted bail finally, which the EFCC prosecution counsel did not object. The accused persons were ordered to remain in the EFCC custody pending when they would fulfill the bail conditions.
