Shagari, 4 others to face trial over N23b Diezani poll cash

The former Minister of Water Resources, Mukhtar Shehu Shagari, is to be arraigned today (tomorrow) over his alleged receipt and laundering of the sum of N500 million out of the N23 billion cash reportedly made available by former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison Madueke, for the compromise of the 2015 presidential election.


Shagari, according to EFCC sources, reportedly received the sum of N500 as the share of the cash to be shared to PDP stakeholders in Sokoto.

The former minister is to answer questions in the dock along with four other political leaders in the PDP: Ibrahim Gidado, Nasiru Dalhatu, Ibrahim Milgoma and Abdullahi Mohammed Wali.

It was learnt on Monday that the Federal High Court sitting in Sokoto had given the EFCC the nod to arraign the suspects in the court on Tuesday.

They are to be docked on a 5-count charge of Conspiracy and Money Laundering to the tune of N500 million.

The defendants are alleged to have participated in the sharing of the $115million largesse from former minister of petroleum resources intended to influence the outcome of the 2015 presidential election.

EFCC intelligence reveals that the distribution of the money was done without following rules that govern financial transactions which contravene Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act.

One of the charges preferred against Shagari and his co-suspects reads: “You Mukhtar Shehu Shagari, Ibrahim Gidado and Ibrahim Milgoma sometime in March 2015, within the justification of this honourable court did conspire among yourselves to receive cash payment of the sum of N500 million from one Abdulrahaman Ibrahim without transacting through a financial institution and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 18(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under section 16(2) of the same Act.