Police arrest aide of Yar’Adua’s wife over N91m ‘fraud’

The Katsina  state police command says it has arrested Yusuf Sarkin Gida, a domestic worker of of Turai Yar’adua, wife of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, for defrauding his principal.

Usman Abdullahi, police commissioner in the state, disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday.

He said the former first lady alerted the police that the suspect, who had been working for the Yar’Adua family for the past 40 years, might be responsible for missing goods worth N91 million.

“The police has arrested Alhaji Yusuf Sarkin-gida after a formal complaint by Hajiya Turai Yar’Adua to the Police two weeks ago,” he said.

“The suspect is the custodian of all the keys and property of Hajiya Turai Yar’Adua for the past 40 years. There are 37 boxes in the custody of the suspect, but only 27 boxes are in the store.

“The several items in the 27 boxes are completely missing and the suspect has failed to give full explanation on the goods and items in the boxes.”

Abdullahi said the suspect was in police custody, where he was assisting them to conduct intensive investigation on the missing items.

When contacted, Mohammed Yusuf,  spokesman of the suspect’s family, said their father was innocent of the charge levelled against him.

He said the arrest and detention of their father before the Eld-el-Kabir celebration had thrown the family into confusion.

He appealed to human rights organisations to come to the man’s rescue.