Ex-Governor Dakingari, 2 others remanded in EFCC custody Diezani’s poll cash

The Federal High Court sitting in Bernin Kebbi, the Kebbi State capital,on Thursday remanded the former governor of the state, Usman Saidu Dakingari, Sunday Dogonyaro and Garba Rabiu Kamba, in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes over their alleged receipt and use of the sum of N450 million from a former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison Madueke to influence the outcome of the 2015 presidential election in which the PDP lost.

The three men, were reported to have received the cash, which they outht to have known was part of procceds of crime and which they should have rejected.
For collecting and using the cash, the EFCC slammed them with 13 counts of charges bordering on conspiracy and money laundering, which it presented before Justice Basse Onu of the Federal High Court sitting in Kebbi.

One of the charges reads: “Usman Saidu Dakingari on or about the 27th March 2015 at Kebbi within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court made a cash payment of the sum of N49.6 million to Alhaji Haruna Haruna 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)(b) of the same Act”.
The defendants however pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them.

Counsel for the prosecution, Jonson Ojogbane, requested a date for trial in view of the plea of the defendants.
But counsel to the dependents moved applications for bail on behalf of their clients and urged the court to admit them to bail.
Ojogbane opposed the bail applications with counter affidavits urging the court to refuse the application of the 1st and 2nd defendants.
Ojogbane, however, did not oppose the bail application of the 3rd defendant who has been constantly reporting to court since the first time the case came up of arraignment.
The first and second defendants on the other hand had initially refused to appear before the court even after the court threatened to issue a bench warrant for their arrest.

After listening to the arguments exchanged between the parties, Justice Onu adjourned the matter to December 10th , 2018 for ruling on bail application.
The defendants were ordered to be remanded in EFCC custody pending the outcome of the ruling on bail application.