The defendants were accused of receiving the amount above from a $115 million fund disbursed by former Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Alison-Madueke, of influencing the outcome of the 2015 presidential election.

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Count one of the charges stated: “That you, Hon. Muhammad Wakil, Garba Abatcha, Ibrahim Shehu Birma, Dr. Abubakar Ali Kullima and Engr. Muhammad Baba Kachalla on or about the 26th day of March 2015 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did agree amongst yourselves to do an illegal act, to wit: conspiracy to commit money laundering and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2022 (as amended).”

All the defendants pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.

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Before concluding their case, the prosecution counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, appeared alongside S.O. Saka, Faruku Muhammad, A.D Aliyu, V.O Ekanem, and A. A. Ayanshola. They submitted several documents, including the defendants’ statements, evidence of payments received by the three Senatorial districts, a draft from the first defendant, and a response letter from Fidelity Bank providing details about the means of identification of the first and second defendants. These documents were admitted as exhibits.

Subsequently, Justice Dagat adjourned the proceedings until October 3-5, 2023, to allow the defendants to present their defense.

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