DollarGate: Ganduje allegedly deploy federal agencies to intimidate Kano anti-corruption boss

The Immediate past Governor of Kano State and current National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, (APC) Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who has been embroiled in allegations and discoveries of high-profile corruption cases under his stewardship as governor of the state as recently exposed by the state antigraft commission has allegedly commenced the use of federal anticorruption agencies to intimidate the Kano State Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC), Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado.

It could be recalled that Mr Ganduje obtained an interim order restraining the Kano State Anticorruption agency from investigating him, his family, and any of his political appointees in the face of brazen corruption allegations.

In 2022, the Chairman of the PCACC, Barrister Muhyi Magaji Rimingado was removed by Mr. Ganduje and the state house of assembly in controversial circumstances, not unconnected with an attempt by the anti-corruption agency under Rimingado to investigate the Gandollar videos and corruption allegations involving the wife of the former governor. The police was allegedly used to hound Mr. Magaji and charged to court with an allegation of forgery which could not be proven.

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Rimingado also promptly filed an action at the National Industrial Court to challenge his removal and was vindicated by the court, which ordered his reinstatement as the PCACC Chairman and payment of his salaries and allowances.

Despite court orders for the Ganduje administration to reinstate the anti-corruption Czar, the court orders were flagrantly disobeyed.

The court later compelled Kano State banker, GT Bank to pay the over N5m outstanding salary of Muhuyi Magaji Rimigado.

With this, the embattled Chairman went back to the National Industrial Court seeking enforcement of his reinstatement as ordered by the court.

Subsequently, the court again ruled in favor of the complainant and ordered his reinstatement.

The current governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf in obvious obedience to the court order, reinstated Magaji, and since that reinstatement, several cases of corruption allegations and abuse of office by the Ganduje-led administration were revealed by the commission.

Recently, an aide of the former governor and his children were discovered as joint owners of a company allegedly used to divert over N4 billion under the government of former Governor Ganduje and were arrested and arraigned by the Commission.

Several equipment and tractors were recovered from their warehouse as well as over seven hundred million Naira(N700M) in Union Bank, Taj Bank, and Zenith Bank were discovered as proceeds of illegal transactions.

Similarly, sources told SOLACEBASE that the state anti-corruption commission recently discovered about 543 plots of lands at the famous Kano dry port Zawachiki estimated at N5 billion Naira allegedly misappropriated by the former governor through Lamash Properties Limited a company linked to him and his children.

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The company embroiled in the controversy of allegedly acquiring lots of Kano State Government Properties including Daula Hotel and Triumph Publishing Company through dubious circumstances.

A source informed SOLACEBASE that another mind-boggling case is that of over 100 Billion Naira local government funds under investigation part of which Mr Ganduje allegedly used to pay the Kano cotton ginnery he sold to himself through his family private company Lasage General Enterprise LTD.

The public-owned cotton ginning company located at Chalawa industrial estate which was reduced to a mere plot now seized by the commission was estimated at N2bn but the former Governor acquired it at the cost of 320 million and the payment was said to have been made in cash by the people alleged to have managed the looted local government missing billions.

This paper gathered that all these actions and discoveries have allgedly prompted the former governor to target the Commission Chairman, using his current position as the National Chairman of the ruling APC to intimidate the state antigraft body through the Federal government anti-corruption and security agencies

SOLACEBASE was informed that Ganduje allegedly influenced the redeployment of some vibrant senior Police officers working at the

Commission to other states this week, the combination of the EFCC and Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) who until now have a good working relationship with Kano anti-graft Commission for all those years have both sent out letters to the Commission, requesting information claiming to be investigating the commission under the leadership of Mr Muhuyi Magaji.

‘’The EFCC and CCB that are yet to initiate an investigation into Ganduje and other members of his cabinet severally accused of corruption, including the son of Ganduje who petitioned his mother to EFCC, wife of the Governor, before fleeing from the country, are very prompt in launching an investigation into the activities of the Kano Anticorruption chairman, ‘’the source said.

SOLACEBASE sighted copies of letters written by the EFCC and CCB requesting the Kano Anti-corruption to furnish it with personal information of the chairman of the Kano Anti-corruption Commission, records of funding of the commission under Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado.

SOLACEBASE placed calls to the anti-corruption chairman, Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado but his phone line was off.

However, when contacted Kano State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Barr. Haruna Dederi said that he has not been officially briefed, but the request of the EFCC and CCB in their letters smacks malicious move that would not hold water.

The commissioner said the EFCC and CCB cannot stop the state anti-graft agency from carrying out its statutory responsibilities as its establishment was by law.

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”Honestly, you cannot rule it out that the former governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is deploying federal might to stop various corruption allegations against him, believing that the federal anti-corruption agencies can be used to shield him from investigation and prosecution, ”Dederi said.

Kano State government or its agencies cannot be intimidated or cowed from carrying out its constitutional responsibilities.”

Similarly, SOLACEBASE called Muhammad Garba, Chief of Staff to the APC national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje who expressed surprise at the allegation against his principal.

Garba said the former governor is not in any way connected to the allegation as Ganduje cannot instruct EFCC or CCB to investigate anybody.

”It is the duty of EFCC or CCB to investigate anybody and that has nothing to do with Ganduje.”