The Kano State Government has filed fresh fraud charges against former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, his Commissioner for Local Government Murtala Garo, and two others, Lamin Sani and Muhammad Takai.
According to the charge sheet, the accused are facing several serious crimes, including: Criminal conspiracy; Criminal breach of trust; Making false statements; Criminal misappropriation.
The state government alleges that they mismanaged funds from the 44 Local Governments’ statutory allocations sent to the State Joint Local Governments account from the Federation Account.
The charges claim that they diverted N57.4 billion through personal accounts of local government cashiers and other personal and corporate accounts. The state accuses them of converting some of this money into dollars for personal gain.
They are also alleged to have used the stolen funds to acquire several high-value properties, including: A service apartment on Murtala Muhammad Way; A commercial apartment at Akoya Oxygen, Dubai; Plot 2201, Floor 22, Damac Heights, Dubai Marina; A multi-billion naira hotel in Jabi, Abuja; Filling stations on Gwarzo Road and Eastern Bypass in Kano.
The state government plans to call 143 witnesses to support their case.
