The Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, arraigned Esther Ashivelli Dawaki and Shehu Aliyu Fatange before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, following their alleged involvement in financial crimes.
The EFCC is prosecuting the duo on a five-count charge of accepting and making cash payments in excess of the amount authorised by law, conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N26 million.
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.”
When the charges were read to the defendants, they both pleaded “not guilty” to the offence preferred against them.
The prosecuting EFCC lawyer, M. O, Arumemi thereafter asked the court for a trial date and for the defendants to be remanded in a correctional centre.
Lawyers to the defendants, E. N. Ogbu and A.A. Ashat, did not raise any objections. They, however, made oral applications for the bail of their clients.
They therefore 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.
But Justice Nwite in his ruling, ordered for the remand of Dawaki, the first defendant in the Suleja Correctional Centre while he ordered that Fatange, the second defendant be remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre 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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