EFCC Charges Two Individuals with N26 Million Money Laundering and Vote Buying

EFCC Charges Two Individuals with N26 Million Money Laundering and Vote Buying in Abuja

The courtroom air thickened with the scent of stale bureaucracy and sweat as Esther Ashivelli Dawaki adjusted her gele, the starched fabric scraping against her ears. Beside her, Shehu Aliyu Fatange's tailored agbada seemed to swallow his frame whole—a politician's armor now fraying at the edges. Justice Nwite's voice cut through the murmurs, each syllable landing like a gavel strike: "Count one: procuring acceptance of twenty-six million naira without financial institution involvement..."

A Toyota Corolla. That's where it unraveled. Parked behind the peeling walls of a Kaduna hotel, the 2010 model had cradled stacks of naira smelling of ink and desperation. Fatange's campaign posters still plastered the city—his smile frozen beside the PDP logo—while the cash in his trunk bled into the August heat. Vote buying, the EFCC alleged. A federal constituency bye-election hanging in the balance like a dangling chad. 

Prosecutor Arumemi's request for remand met no resistance, only the hollow echo of "not guilty" pleas. Defense counsels Ogbu and Ashat scrambled for bail like men catching smoke, their voices tight with the unspoken calculus of detention centers: Suleja for Dawaki, Kuje for Fatange. Different prisons, same sinking ship. 

Outside, the Corolla sat impounded, its upholstery still indented where the money breathed. Twenty-six million. Enough to buy a thousand votes or two lifetimes of regret. The trial date loomed—September 15th—a Monday that would taste like ashes in their mouths. Justice Nwite's pen hovered, signing dockets while Fatange's phantom campaign jingle played on loop in the gallery's mind: *Progress for Chikun/Kajuru*. Progress, now measured in handcuffs.