Kano State High Court has fixed April 17, 2024, for the arraignment of the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the immediate past governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife, son and five others over allegations of bribery.
Ganduje, his wife, son and others will be arraigned before the court on eight counts bordering on a $413,000 bribery allegation, diversion, and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N1.38bn, among others.
A Federal High Court in Kano had ruled that the Kano Public Compliant and Anti-Corruption Commission lacked the power to investigate Ganduje over an alleged $5 million bribery video.
Justice Abdullahi Liman, while delivering his judgement, said the offence was a federal offence that could be prosecuted by the Attorney General of the Federation and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The court said the Kano anti-graft agency had limitations in investigating the former governor.
But on Monday, governor of the state, Abba Yusuf, urged the EFCC to release the result of its probe into the alleged dollar bribery video involving Ganduje.
Yusuf, in a statement by his spokesperson, Sanusi Tofa, said Ganduje should rather prepare to face his trial instead of talking about non-existent failure in the current administration.
„For whatever option, the Kano State government would advise the acting National Chairman of APC to show cause why his name, that of his family, and the entire people of Kano should permanently be erased from the global embarrassment that the dollar video has generated,” he said.
Apart from Ganduje, others joined as respondent in the criminal charge are Hafsat Umar, Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited and Lesage General Enterprises as respondents. The case is fixed for April 17, 2024, before Justice Usman Na’aba of the state high court.
