Tuesday 5 January 2016

$2.1bn Arms Deal: Former PDP chairman, Haliru Bello arrives court in wheelchair as corruption trial begins

Haliru Bello arrives court in wheelchair as corruption trial begins
Former acting National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and a member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Haliru Bello has been arraigned on a four-count charge of money laundering before a Federal High Court, Abuja on Tuesday.

Bello and his son, Abba Mohammed, were alleged to have diverted N300 million meant for the procurement of arms by the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.



Bello, however, caused a drama at the court when he arrived in ambulance. The ex-PDP chair was taken into the courtroom on a wheelchair.

It was not clear when Bello became committed to wheelchair.

The charges against him and his son read, “That you BELLO ABBA MOHAMMED, BAM PROJECTS AND PROPERTIES LTD and DOCTOR ALIRU BELLO on or about 17th March 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, took possession of the sum of N300,000,000. 00 (Three Hundred Million Naira) paid into the account of Bam project and properties limited with Sterling Bank Plc from the account of the office of National Security Adviser with the Central Bank of Nigeria when you reasonably ought to have known that the said fund formed part of the proceed of an unlawful activity of COL. MOHAMMED SAMBO DASUKI (RTD) the then National Security Adviser (to wit: criminal breach of trust and corruption) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under section 15(3) of the same Act.
“That you BELLO ABBA MOHAMMED, BAM PROJECTS AND PROPERTIES LTD and DOCTOR ALIRU BELLO on or about 17th March 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, converted the sum of N300,000,000. 00 (Three Hundred Million Naira) which sum was transferred from the account of the office of the National Security of Nigeria with the Central Bank of Nigeria for the purporting same to be for ‘Safe Houses” but which you claimed to have received for political campaign and when you reasonably ought to have known that the said fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity of COL. MOHAMMED SAMBO DASUKI (RTD) the then National Security Adviser (to wit: criminal breach of trust and corruption) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15 (2) (b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under section 15(3) of the same Act.
“That you BELLO ABBA MOHAMMED and BAM PROJECTS AND PROPERTIES LTD on or about 17th March 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did retain the sum of N300,000,000. 00 (Three Hundred Million Naira) on behalf of DOCTOR ALIRU BELLO and COL. MOHAMMED SAMBO DASUKI (RTD) the former Chairman of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and National Security Adviser respectively by concealing the said sum in your account with Sterling Bank Plc when you knew the said Doctor Aliru Bello and Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (RTD) to be engaged in a criminal conduct; to wit: theft of public fund for a political activity and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 17 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under section 17(b) of the same Act.

“That you BELLO ABBA MOHAMMED, BAM PROJECTS AND PROPERTIES LTD and DOCTOR ALIRU BELLO on or about 17th March 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did conspired to launder the sum of N300,000,000. 00 (Three Hundred Million Naira) which sum you claimed to have received for political campaign and when you reasonably ought to have known that the said fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity of COL. MOHAMMED SAMBO DASUKI (RTD) the then National Security Adviser (to wit: criminal breach of trust and corruption) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under section 15(3) of the same Act.”
Abbah Mohammed and Haliru Bello plead not guilty to the first count

Haliru Bello arrives court in wheelchair as corruption trial begins
Credit: The Guardian

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