According to the The Nation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has tendered documents in court showing how funds allegedly diverted by former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke was allegedly shared.The commission said Alison-Madueke allegedly shared $115,010,000 (about N35billion) to different individuals in 36 states ahead of the 2015 general election.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mohammed Belgore and a former minister of National Planning Prof Abubakar Suleiman are on trial before Justice Rilwan Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
EFCC accused them of directly receiving N450million in cash from Alison-Madueke without going through a financial institution. They pleaded not guilty.
The money they received, the commission said, was shared to electoral officers and others in Kwara State.
Suleiman and Belgore, according to documents tendered by EFCC, collected N450million on behalf of Kwara.
Every other state also got part of the cash, according to documents sighted by our correspondent Wednesday.
For instance, two Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chiefs received N500million for Cross River State; two party chiefs got N650million on behalf of Lagos State; while two party men received N450million for Taraba State.
Two PDP chiefs collected N700million for Kaduna State; two party chiefs got N450million for Gombe State; four party chiefs got N700million on behalf of Imo State, while two men collected N450million for Anambra State, among others.
The commission tendered two documents marked as Exhibits 7 and 7A, with breakdown of how the monies were to be shared.
According to one of the documents entitled: Kwara State, four polling booth agents in 2,406 units got N10, 000 each (amounting to N96, 240,000), while presiding officers got N20, 000 each (totaling N48, 120,000).
Fifteen electoral officers received N250,000 each (totaling N3,750,000); 15 supervisors got N100,000; 15 returning officers were given N50,000 each; 193 ward returning officers got N20,000 each (totaling N3,860,000), while the state returning officer allegedly got N1million.
According to the document, a total of N155, 220,000 was shared among the electoral officers in Kwara.
Another document entitled: Security and Transportation Per State, also tendered by the commission, contains a breakdown of how some of the money from Mrs Alison-Madueke was allegedly shared.
The breakdown is follows: Resident Electoral Commissioner (N10million); Administrative Secretary (N5million), Head of Operations “and his boys” (N5million), other officers (N2million), Resident Assistant Inspector-General of Police (N2million), and Commissioner of Police (N10million).
Others are: Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations (N2million), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Operations (N1million), ACP Administration (N1million); Officer in Charge, Mopol and “men in the state” (N7million), and “21c Mopol” and unit commanders (N10million).
The rest are: Director of the State Security Services (SSS) and his men (N2,5million), military officers (N50million), other security agents (including the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) (N20million).
In the charge, EFCC accused Belgore and Suleiman of conspiring to make cash payment of N450million, which exceeded the amount authorised by law, without going through a financial institution.
They were also accused of making cash payment of N450million to one Sheriff Shagaya without going through a financial institution.
The alleged offence, to which the defendants pleaded not guilty, contravened sections 1 (a), 16 (d) and 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act 2012 and punishable under Section 16 (2) (b).
The trial will continue on November 13 and 14. (TheNation)