Fresh Fraud Charges Filed Against Kano’s Immediate Past Governor and Others

The Kano State Government has filed a new fraud charge against the former governor of the state, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, his Commissioner for Local Government, Murtala Garo, and two others. The fresh charges stem from allegations of mismanaging statutory allocations remitted to the State Joint Local Governments account and illegally diverting N57.4 billion.

According to the charge sheet, Garo, Lamin Sani, and Muhammad Takai are accused of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, making false statements or returns, and criminal misappropriation. The state alleges that they mismanaged the statutory allocations of the 44 Local Government areas and diverted the funds to personal accounts.

The government also accused them of transferring the funds into dollars for their personal benefits. The charges further stated that the accused individuals acquired luxurious assets, including a service apartment in Dubai, a multi-billion naira hotel in Abuja, and filling stations in Kano.

The state government said it will call 143 witnesses to testify in the case, but no date has been set for the trial. This development is the latest in a series of charges filed against Ganduje, his wife, and several others since April 4, when the government first filed a suit against them at the Kano High Court.

On July 16, the state government filed another charge against Ganduje and the former commissioner for justice, Musa Lawan, for criminal conspiracy and misappropriation. The government accused them of abusing their office to embezzle funds.

The Kano State Government has shown no signs of slowing down its pursuit of justice, with multiple cases ongoing against the former governor and his allies.