August 09, (THEWILL) – The Kano State Government has filed fresh charges against the immediate-past governor of the state and the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, his Commissioner for Local Government, Murtala Sule Garo and two other persons.
The charges contain allegations bordering on criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, making false statements and criminal misappropriation.
In the four-count charge sheet with case No.K/148c/24 sighted by THEWILL, they were accused of being entrusted with the receipt and management of the 44 local government’s statutory allocations usually remitted to the State Joint Local Governments account from the Federation account.
They were alleged to have unlawfully and criminally diverted the total sum of “Fifty Seven Billion, Four Hundred and Thirty Three Million, Nine Hundred and Eighty One Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixteen Naira (N57,433,981,816.00) through several personal accounts of Local Government’s Cashiers and other personal and corporate accounts”.
The State Government also accused them of transforming the funds into US Dollars and Nigerian Naira “which they allegedly criminally appropriated same for personal benefits out of which they fraudulently used the proceed, converted same into acquiring properties worth billions of Naira, including Kano Cotton Ginnery at Challawa Kano City, 200 hundred bed capacity hotel at Badawa Nassarawa Local Government Area, Kano”.
They were also accused of using the proceeds to acquire a service apartment on Murtala Muhammad Way, a commercial apartment at Akoya Oxygen – x20868 Dubai in Tigerwood and plot 2201 Floor 22 Damac Height, Marsa Dubai Marina, a multi-billion naira hotel at Jabi, Abuja.
Others are filling stations at Gwarzo Road, Kano, and Eastern Bypass, Kano “for their own personal benefits, causing wrongful gain for themselves and wrongful loss to the good people of the State, and the 44 local government areas of Kano State”.
According to the charge sheet, the prosecution will, at the trial of the defendants, “adduce evidence to show that the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants have used their offices in betrayal of their official trust between the period of 2020 to 2023 for self-enrichment, using several personal accounts of Local Government’s Cashiers and other personal and corporate accounts in which monies diverted from the statutory allocation of the 44 local government areas of Kano State are corruptly and fraudulently converted to acquire properties at both Kano, Abuja and even Dubai.”
It said 143 witnesses will be presented during the trial which is expected to commence soon.
Abdullahi Yusuf is a seasoned journalist, communicator and was previously the Deputy Editor-In-Chief and Zonal Manager, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Jos, where he retired on December 15, 2021
