Kano files fresh charge against Ganduje over ‘N240m fraud’

The Kano government has filed a fresh charge against Abdullahi Ganduje, former governor of the state.

Ganduje was charged on four counts alongside Musa Lawan, former attorney-general of the state.

The offences border on criminal conspiracy, abuse of office and misappropriation, contrary to Section 308 and punishable under Section 309 of the Penal Code (as amended) CAP 105, Vol. 2, the Laws of Kano State of Nigeria.

The duo were alleged to have misappropriated, diverted and converted the sum of N240 million belonging to the state. 

In the charge sheet, the state government said it intends to present four witnesses.

No date has been fixed for the arraignment.

In April, the Kano government filed an eight-count charge bordering on bribery, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds against Ganduje; Hafsat, his wife; Umar Abdullahi Umar, his son; and five others.

Other defendants in the case are Abubakar Bawuro, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.

On July 11, the defendants were arraigned in absentia and the court entered a plea of not guilty on their behalf.

BACKGROUND

In 2018, the Daily Nigerian, an online newspaper, published a video of Ganduje allegedly receiving bundles of dollars from contractors, which he stuffed into his ‘babanriga’, a traditional outfit.

The APC national chairman was the governor of Kano from 2015 to 2023.

The newspaper said Ganduje requested $5 million as kickback from the contractors who recorded the video.

In 2023, the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) invited Ganduje for questioning over the video.

The former governor did not honour the invitation and instead instituted a suit against the agency.

In March, a federal high court in Kano stopped the agency from inviting or questioning Ganduje over the bribery allegation.

The court ruled that the agency lacks the power to invite or investigate Ganduje.

Abdullahi Liman, the presiding judge, said the alleged infraction is a federal offence that cannot be prosecuted by the state anti-graft agency.