A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Dele Belgore yesterday told the Federal High Court in Lagos that he was not aware that the N450 million he signed for in 2015, as the Goodluck Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation coordinator in Kwara State, came from a former Petroleum Resources Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.
Belgore, who is being tried alongside a former Minister for National Planning, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, for allegedly laundering the sum of N470 million, also told the court that he had never met or dealt with Mrs. Alison-Madueke before or after the incident.
The senior lawyer and Sulaiman were on November 28, 2017, re-arraigned before Justice Rilwan Aikawa by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended 9-count charge bordering on conspiracy and money laundering.
The alleged offences, according to the prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, are contrary to Sections 18(a), 15(2)(d),1(a), Section 16(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012, and punishable under Section 15(3), 4 and 16(2)(b)of the same Act.
They however pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to them.
The two Prosecution Witnesses (PW) had earlier testified that Mrs. Alison-Madueke collected N23billion from three oil marketers: Northern Belt Ltd, Actus Integrated Ltd, Midwestern Compay and one Mr Leno Laitan, ahead of the 2015 general elections, and that it was part of the money that Belgore signed for.
However, while testifying in his own defence yesterday, Belgore, denied knowledge of the transaction between Mrs. Alison-Madueke and the oil companies.
He told to the court, “I don’t know any of the said marketers that PW1 claimed provided the money. I never met or dealt with them.
“PW1 and PW2 (EFCC investigators) said the money was paid out on Diezani’s instructions. I have no information about that. I never met her.
“I have never spoken with her. I never dealt with or spoken with anybody claiming to be acting on her behalf,” he stressed.
Belgore said he was made to believe that the money was from the Campaign Organisation and not from another source.
“On the contrary, we asked the Presidential Campaign headquarters for funds for the election because there were agitations from candidates and stakeholders for funds. We were told there were no funds available, but that a series of fund raising activities had been lined up.
“I know that funds were indeed raised. I also know that within a very short time, the headquarters called me and said the funds were available.
On March 26, 2015, I received a call from the Financial Director of the Campaign Organisation Mrs. Nenadi Usman that the money had been sent.
“There was no basis, evidence or indication that the money came from any other place other than the Presidential Campaign Headquarters.
“Up until then, no one other than PW1 and PW2 had told me that the N450million did not come from the fundraising activities conducted by the Presidential Campaign Organisation,” Belgore said.