Ganduje in fresh trouble as Kano State files new charges against him

Ganduje in fresh trouble as Kano State files new charges against him

Story from Uji A. ILIYASU 

Barely a week after a Kano State High Court No. 7 presided by Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu commenced the trial of the former governor of Kano State and the current APC national chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, in absentia, fresh charges have again been filed against him before the state High Court with suit No. K/143c/24.

The charge sighted on Monday, has Dr. Ganduje and his erstwhile Commissioner for Justice, Barr. Musa Abdullahi Lawan, as 1st and 2nd defendants respectively.

Ganduje, alongside his wife, Hafsat Umar, Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited and Lasage General Enterprises Limited, are standing trial on an eight-count charge bordering on bribery allegations, misappropriation and division of public funds running into billions of naira against the defendants.

The court, last week, entered a non-guilty plea for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th defendants in the suit in absentia

The duo as contained in the new charge sheet are standing trial for; “dishonestly, fraudulently and without reasonable justification, in the abuse of your respective officers, conspired between yourselves, misappropriated, diverted and converted the sum of Two Hundred and Forty Million Naira (N240,000,000.00) to finance purely personal and private case for your own personal and private benefit thereby causing wrongful gain to yourselves and wrongful loss to the Government and people of Kano State”.

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The charge sheet further reads: “the prosecution intended to present 4 witnesses and will at the trial of the Defendants adduce evidence to show that the 1st Defendant in betrayal of his official trust, taking advantage of his privileged position as the Governor and Chief Executive Officer of Kano State, between the period of November 2022 or thereabout Conspire with his subordinate the 2nd Defendant who is in a blatant display of abuse of office initiated a memo to the 1st Defendant to approve the release of Two Hundred and Fourty Million Naira (N240,000,000.00) for the purpose of civil litigation in respect of the staff of Kano State who were being abuse by the EFCC which in reality the funds were converted to secure order against the EFCC not to investigate Bribery and Corruption allegation against the 1st Defendant in a purely private and personal matter.”

They were accused of four-count charges of criminal conspiracy, contrary to Section 96 and punishable under Section 97; criminal breach of trust contrary to Section 311 and punishable under Section 315; criminal misappropriation contrary to Section 308 and punishable under Section 309 of the Penal Code (as amended) CAP 105, Vol. 2, the Laws of Kano State of Nigeria.

No date has been fixed for the commencement of the trial.

Proofreading, editing by Uji A Iliyasu, Editor at Neptune Prime