The Kano State Government has initiated new charges against the former governor of the state and current APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Alongside Ganduje, the charges also implicate his former Commissioner for Local Government, Murtala Sule Garo, and two other individuals.
The accusations revolve around alleged criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, providing false statements, and misappropriation of public funds.
According to a four-count charge sheet (No.K/148c/24), the defendants are alleged to have been entrusted with the management of statutory allocations for the 44 Local Government Areas of Kano State, which were remitted to the State Joint Local Governments account from the Federation account.
The document claims that they unlawfully diverted the sum of N57,433,981,816.00 into various personal accounts, as well as those belonging to Local Government cashiers and other private and corporate entities.
The state government further alleges that the funds were converted into both US Dollars and Nigerian Naira and subsequently used to acquire properties worth billions of naira.
“Among these are the Kano Cotton Ginnery at Challawa in Kano City, a 200-bed hotel in Badawa, Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano, and other high-value properties, including a service apartment on Murtala Muhammad Way, a commercial apartment in Dubai, and a multi-billion naira hotel in Jabi, Abuja.
“Additional assets listed in the charges include filling stations on Gwarzo Road and the Eastern Bypass in Kano,” the document revealed.
The government contends that these acquisitions were made for personal benefit, leading to wrongful gain for the accused and wrongful loss to the good people of the State and the 44 Local Government Areas of Kano State.
The charge sheet indicates that the prosecution intends to present 143 witnesses during the trial, which is expected to commence shortly.
The document revealed that between 2020 and 2023, the defendants exploited their official positions to divert public funds for self-enrichment, using various accounts to corruptly acquire properties in Kano, Abuja, and Dubai.
