The arraignment of the immediate-past Kano State governor and the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, on bribery charges has been scheduled for April 17 by the Kano State High Court. The arraignment will take place at 9 am before Justice Usman Na’aba, in Courtroom 4.
Ganduje will be arraigned alongside his wife, Hafsat, son, Umar and five others on eight counts, which involve $413,000 and N1.38bn bribery.
The Kano State Government has assembled 15 witnesses to testify against them. The defendants are Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Ltd, Safari Textiles Ltd and Lesage General Enterprises.
Governor Abba Yusuf had previously accused Ganduje of misappropriating public funds and allocating plots of land to some members of his immediate family. On Monday, the state governor urged the EFCC to release the result of its probe into the alleged dollar bribery video involving Ganduje.
Ganduje’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Enlightenment, Chief Oliver Okpala, responded to the move by the Kano government by stating that it was an afterthought. He claimed that the matter fell within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. Despite attempts to contact Ganduje for his reaction, he was unavailable, as he had reportedly traveled to Saudi Arabia.
Chief Oliver Okpala stated, “I am surprised by the charges, which seem to be coming as an afterthought. However, I am aware that the Federal High Court sitting in Kano recently gave a judgment on the same issue, where it gave exclusive reserve to federal agencies to prosecute such matters after investigation, if there is prima facie evidence of committing the alleged offenses.”
He went on to say, “I urge those concerned to refer to the said judgment of the Federal High Court and take a cue from it so as to be well-guided in their attempt to prosecute. This will ensure that public funds are not wasted without achieving any success, and to avoid what could be termed an abuse of court process.”
In the charges, the state government alleged that “You, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, sometime between the period of January 10, 2016 or thereabouts, at Kano in the Kano Judicial Division, while serving as the Governor of Kano State and being a public servant in the government of Kano State corruptly asked for and received the sum of $200,000 being benefit for yourself from one of the beneficiaries of contracts awarded by the Kano State Government on your instruction and approval as part of your function as the Governor of Kano State, thereby committed the offence of official corruption, contrary to and punishable under Section 22 of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-corruption Commission Law 2008 (as amended), Law No 2 of 2009, Laws of Kano State of Nigeria.”
In the second count, the state government said, Ganduje, on February 10, 2017 “dishonestly and/or corruptly to your own advantage collected a kick-back of the sum of $ 213,000 being money generated from people and entities seeking or holding the execution of Kano State Government contact and or project for the remodelling of Kantin Kwari textile market as a bribe through one of the contractors (agent).”
In another count, the state alleged that Ganduje, between September 2020 and March 2021, “together with one Hafsat Umar (your spouse) and Abubakar Bawuro, a businessman, Safari Textile Ltd, a limited liability company, wholly owned and maintained by the 3rd defendant, agreed to do an illegal act to wit: dishonestly converted to your own use the sum of N1,376,000,000 through account No. 7085982019 belonging to the 3rd defendant being money earmarked and approved for the purchase and supply of face masks and other hospital equipment for the health sector, thereby causing wrongful loss to the people and the government of Kano State and thereby jointly committed the offence of criminal conspiracy contrary to Section 96 and punishable under section 97 of The penal code (as amended) CAP,105, Vol.2. The Laws of Kano State of Nigeria, 1991.”
The Kano State’s Attorney General, Muhuyi Magaji, said he was empowered by Section 211 of the 1999 Constitution and Sections 121(1), 126(b) and 377 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2019, “to apply to prefer the charge attached herewith against the defendants.”