The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC
Kaduna office, today May 31, 2018 arraigned the
former Executive Governor of Kaduna State Mukhtar
Ramalan Yero; former Minister of State, Nuhu Somo
Wya; former People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Kaduna
State Chairman, Abubakar Haruna Gaya and the former
Secretary to the State Government, Hamza Ishaq.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC
Kaduna office, today May 31, 2018 arraigned the
former Executive Governor of Kaduna State Mukhtar
Ramalan Yero; former Minister of State, Nuhu Somo
Wya; former People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Kaduna
State Chairman, Abubakar Haruna Gaya and the former
Secretary to the State Government, Hamza Ishaq.
They were arraigned before Justice S.M Shuaibu of the
Federal High Court Kaduna on a Four Count charge
bordering on Criminal Conspiracy, Bribery, Money
Laundering and Criminal Diversion of Funds to the
tune of N7000,000,000 (Seven Hundred Million Naira)
only.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charges. Lead
prosecution counsel, Joshua Saidi then prayed the
Court for a date for commencement of trial, while
remanding the accused persons in prison custody.
Lead defence counsel, Yunus Ustaz Usman (SAN)
made application for bail orally but Justice Shuaibu
refused. The Court ruled that formal applications for
bail of the accused must be filed. He therefore
adjourned the matter to the 6th of June, 2018 for
hearing of bail application. He also ruled that the
accused be remanded in prison custody.
Their arraignment followed a petition alleging criminal
diversion of One Hundred and Fifteen Million Dollars
equivalent to Twenty Three Billion, Two Hundred and
Ninety Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Five
Thousand Naira (N 23, 299,705,000.00) NNPC
missing funds some years ago by the former Minister
of Petroleum Resources Mrs Diezani Alison Madueke.
The missing sum was later traced to have funded the
bribing of officials across the 36 state of the
federation for the 2015 presidential election through
Fidelity Bank.
Investigations into the case has so far revealed that
the over Twenty Billion Naira was wired to some top
PDP and INEC officials across the country which was
specifically disbursed through various branches of the
Fidelity Bank with Kaduna State benefitting over N800
million (Eight Hundred Million Naira) only in two
instalments of N700,000,000 and N190,000,000.
The sum was received and acknowledged by Nuhu
Somo Waya, Abubakar Gaya Haruna and Hamza Ishaq
on behalf of the State for onward sharing to INEC staff
spread across the 23 Local Government Areas in
Kaduna State.
Count one of the charge reads: “that you, Mukhtar
Ramalan Yero (Whilst being the Executive Governor of
Kaduna State ), Nuhu Somo Wya (Whilst being a former
Minister of the Fedearl Republic of Nigeria), Ishaq
Hamza (whilst being the Secretary to the Kaduna State
Government) and Abubakar Gaya Haruna (Whilst being
the Chairman PDP Kaduna State Chapter), sometime in
2015 in Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this
Honourable Court (Federal High Court) did conspire
amongst yourselves to commit a crime to wit: indirectly
taking possession of the of N700, 000, 000 (seven
hundred million Naira) which you ought to have known
forms part of unlawful activity to wit: bribery and
thereby committed an offence contrary to Section
18(a)of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011
(as ammended) in 2012 and punishable under Section
15(3) of the Same Act.”
