Kano State Government has filed fraud charges amounting to N57.4 billion against the former governor Abdullahi Ganduje, now APC national chairman, his former commissioner for local government Murtala Garo, and two other individuals.
The charges, detailed in a four-count indictment (No. K/148c/24), include criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, false statements, and criminal misappropriation.
The prosecution plans to present at least 143 witnesses during the trial, which is expected to begin soon.
The Abba Yusuf administration alleges that Ganduje and the other accused were responsible for managing the statutory allocations from the 44 Local Governments, which are typically remitted to the State Joint Local Governments account from the Federation account.
According to the charges, the defendants are accused of unlawfully diverting N57,433,981,816.00 through personal and corporate accounts, transforming the funds into cash in US dollars and Nigerian naira, and using the money for personal gain. They allegedly acquired properties worth billions of naira, including Kano Cotton Ginnery at Challawa, a 200-bed hotel in Badawa, Nassarawa Local Government Area, and multiple international properties, including a service apartment on Murtala Muhammad Way and commercial properties in Dubai.
Additionally, the indictment claims they used the funds to acquire filling stations in Kano, causing wrongful gain for themselves and significant loss to the state and its local governments.
“The prosecution will present evidence showing that the defendants abused their official positions from 2020 to 2023 for personal enrichment, diverting funds from the statutory allocations of Kano State’s 44 Local Governments into properties both domestically and internationally,” the indictment states.
