The Kano State Government has filed fresh fraud charges against the state's immediate past governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, along with his former Commissioner for Local Government, Murtala Garo, and two other individuals, Lamin Sani and Muhammad Takai.
According to the charge sheet, the defendants face allegations of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, making false statements, and criminal misappropriation. The state accuses them of mismanaging statutory allocations for the 44 Local Governments, which were remitted to the State Joint Local Governments account from the Federation account. It is alleged that N57.4 billion was criminally diverted through various personal accounts of Local Government cashiers and other personal and corporate accounts.
Furthermore, the defendants are accused of converting these funds into dollars for personal gain. The state also alleges that they used the misappropriated funds to acquire several high-value properties, including a service apartment on Murtala Muhammad Way, a commercial apartment in Akoya Oxygen – x20868 Dubai in Tigerwood, a plot at Damac Height in Marsa Dubai Marina, a multi-billion Naira hotel in Jabi, Abuja, and filling stations on Gwarzo Road and Eastern Bypass in Kano.
The Kano State Government intends to call 143 witnesses to support its case. However, a date for the court proceedings has yet to be set.
This new legal action follows a previous suit filed on April 4 against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat Umar, and six others, including his son Umar Abdullahi Umar, and several companies. In another related case, filed on July 16 under case number K/143c/24, Ganduje and the former Commissioner for Justice, Musa Lawan, were charged with criminal conspiracy and misappropriation, with the state accusing them of abuse of office.
This series of charges against Ganduje and his associates marks a significant legal challenge for the former governor, who served two terms in office from 2015 to 2023.
