KANO STATE GOVT FILES FRESH CHARGES AGAINST GANDUJE

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Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, the national chairman of the APC and a former governor of the state, is the target of new accusations brought by the Kano government.

The state government charged Ganduje and former Commissioner for Justice Musa Lawan with criminal conspiracy and misappropriation in violation of Section 308, which is punishable under Section 309 of the Penal Code (as amended) CAP 105, Vol. 2, the laws of Kano State, Nigeria. The charge sheet with case No. K/143c/24 was filed on Tuesday.

The latest charges detail claims of financial wrongdoing involving a substantial quantity of money.

Ganduje and Lawan were charged in the charge sheet with plotting to steal, divert, and convert ₦240 million for their own purposes.

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.”

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The document further revealed that the prosecution plans to present four witnesses to testify against the defendants.

It alleged that Ganduje, leveraging his position as the governor, conspired with Lawan, who initiated a memo requesting the release of the funds ostensibly for civil litigation, involving Kano State staff allegedly abused by the EFCC.

The court charges said, “In reality, the funds were purportedly used to secure an order preventing the EFCC from investigating bribery and corruption allegations against Ganduje.”

The charges against Ganduje and Lawan include criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and criminal misappropriation, all contravening various sections of the Penal Code (as amended) CAP 105, Vol. 2, Laws of Kano State of Nigeria.

The court has yet to set a date for the commencement of the trial.

This latest legal action follows a series of legal challenges faced by Ganduje and his associates. Recently, the court entered a not-guilty plea for Ganduje, his wife Hafsat Umar, and other defendants in absentia, on an eight-count charge that includes allegations of bribery, misappropriation, and division of public funds amounting to billions of Naira.

The offence, the state government said, is contrary punishable under Sections 97 and 315.

The state government accused Ganduje and Lawan of abuse of office.

Although no date has been fixed for the arraignment, the state government said it intends to present four witnesses.

This is as the Kano State High Court last week, ruled that the trial of Ganduje, and others accused of bribery and misappropriation will continue even in their absence.

The state government had filed an eight-count charge against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat Umar; Abubakar Bawuro; Umar Abdullahi Umar; Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited. The charges involve allegations of bribery, misappropriation, and the diversion of public funds amounting to billions of naira.

Ruling last Thursday, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu dismissed the state government’s application for a bench warrant against the defendants.

“The trial of the defendants continues even in their absence,” she stated.

The court had previously, on June 5, granted an order to serve Ganduje and the other defendants through substituted service.

The prosecution counsel, Adeola Adedipe (SAN) informed the court that the defendants had been served, and an affidavit of service was filed on June 6.

He noted, “My lord, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th respondents are not in court nor represented, only the 6th respondent”.

Adedipe requested the court to enter a plea of not guilty on behalf of the absent defendants, citing section 278(1)(2) of the Kano State Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) 2019.

“The court should enter a plea of not guilty on behalf of the defendants who refused to answer the complaint in the charge,” Adedipe argued.

He also urged the court to issue a bench warrant of arrest under Section 388 of the Kano State ACJL, stressing, “The essence of an arrest warrant is for the sanctity and urgency of the court because an order has been made for the defendants to appear before it and they refused”.

However, counsel for the 6th respondent, Nureini Jimoh (SAN) contended that service had not been properly effected on his client.

“We filed a notice of preliminary objection on the competency of the entire charge. The court does not have constitutional power on any of the count charges,” Jimoh stated.

He also mentioned that an application for a stay of execution had been filed before the Court of Appeal, “restraining the prosecution from publishing any charges against the 6th respondent”.

Jimoh urged the court to dismiss the prosecution’s application for a warrant of arrest and to refrain from entering a plea of not guilty on behalf of the 6th respondent.

Justice Adamu-Aliyu has adjourned the case until October 23 and 24 for the hearing of the preliminary objection and the main charge.