By Abiola Olawale
The Kano State Government has again dragged the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Ganduje, before the Kano State High Court.
The Kano state government in a fresh charge sheet with case No. K/143c/24, filed on Tuesday, accused Ganduje and a former Commissioner for Justice of the State, Musa Lawan, of criminal conspiracy and misappropriation.
The Kano state government is also arguing that the alleged act of Ganduje and Lawan is 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.
The new charges outline allegations of financial misconduct allegedly involving a substantial sum of money.
According to the charge sheet, Ganduje and Lawan are being accused of conspiring to misappropriate, divert, and convert ₦240m for personal use.
Part of the charge sheet states: “The duo are standing trial for dishonestly, fraudulently, and without reasonable justification, in the abuse of your respective offices, 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 cases for your own personal and private benefit, thereby causing wrongful gain to yourselves and wrongful loss to the Government and people of Kano State.”
This is coming after the Kano State government had initiated a formal summons against Ganduje, a two-term governor of Kano State, his wife, son, and five others at a Kano State High Court over allegations of financial impropriety while in office.
The former Governor was accused of allegedly receiving a $400,000 kickback from a contractor. The Kano State government had also previously accused Ganduje of criminal conspiracy, misappropriation, diversion of public funds, and bribery, to the tune of N1.3 billion.
The suit, dated April 3, and filed by the counsel to the state government, Muhuyi Magaji, said the offence contravened Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Commission Commission Law 2008.
However, some people in Kano State view these charges as acts of political vendetta against Ganduje by the NNPP controlled Kano state government. They argue that the whole drama is being staged managed to embarrass the immediate past Governor who is now the national chairman of the ruling APC.
