The Kano State Government has initiated new fraud charges against Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, the former governor of Kano State, his former Commissioner for Local Government, Murtala Garo, and two other individuals—Lamin Sani and Muhammad Takai.
According to the charge sheet, the four individuals are accused of various criminal activities including criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, making false statements or returns, and criminal misappropriation. The state alleges that they mismanaged funds amounting to N57.4 billion, which were allocated to the 44 Local Governments and deposited into the State Joint Local Governments account from the Federation account.
The charges detail how these funds were allegedly diverted through numerous personal and corporate accounts, including those of Local Government Cashiers. The accused are also alleged to have converted the stolen funds into foreign currency (dollars) for their personal use.
The Kano State Government has further accused the defendants of using the misappropriated funds to acquire various high-value assets. These include a service apartment on Murtala Muhammad Way, a commercial property at Akoya Oxygen – x20868 Dubai in Tigerwood, a plot at Damac Heights, Marsa Dubai Marina, a multi-billion Naira hotel in Jabi, Abuja, filling stations on Gwarzo Road Kano, and Eastern Bypass Kano.
In addition, the state plans to call 143 witnesses to support its case. As of now, no date has been set for the court proceedings.
This new charge follows a previous legal action filed on April 4, where the Kano State Government had also charged Ganduje, his wife Hafsat Umar, and six others, including Ganduje’s son Umar Abdullahi Umar, Abubakar Bawuro, Jibrilla Muhammad, and companies such as Lamash Properties Ltd., Safari Textiles Ltd., and Lesage General Enterprises.
Additionally, on July 16, the Kano State Government filed another charge (case No. K/143c/24) against Ganduje and former Commissioner for Justice Musa Lawan, accusing them of criminal conspiracy and misappropriation. They are charged with abusing their office in these matters.
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