The Kano State Government has launched a new fraud prosecution against former governor Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, along with Murtala Garo, the Commissioner for Local Government, and two other individuals.
The indictment accuses Garo, Lamin Sani, and Muhammad Takai of several crimes, including conspiracy, breach of trust, false reporting, and misappropriation of funds.
The charges state that they mishandled the statutory allocations for 44 Local Governments that were deposited into the State Joint Local Governments account from the Federation account.
They are also accused of illegally diverting N57.4 billion through various personal and corporate accounts connected to Local Government Cashiers.
Additionally, the state claims they converted these funds into dollars for personal use and invested in high-end properties, including a service apartment on Murtala Muhammad Way, a commercial space at Akoya Oxygen in Dubai, and a multi-billion Naira hotel in Jabi, Abuja.
Other alleged acquisitions include filling stations on Gwarzo Road and Eastern Bypass in Kano.
The indictment notes that the state plans to present 143 witnesses, but no trial date has been scheduled. Earlier, on April 4, the Kano government filed a lawsuit against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat Umar, and six others in the Kano High Court.
This group includes Ganduje’s son Umar Abdullahi Umar, Abubakar Bawuro, Jibrilla Muhammad, along with Lamash Properties Ltd., Safari Textiles Ltd., and Lesage General Enterprises.
On July 16, in case No. K/143c/24, the Kano government charged Ganduje and former Commissioner for Justice Musa Lawan with conspiracy and misappropriation, alleging abuse of office.
NAN.
