Umar Ganduje

The Kano state government has filed fresh charges against the immediate past governor, Umar Ganduje, his former Commissioner for Local Government, Murtala Garo, and two others.

As detailed in the court filings, the charges against Garo, Lamin Sani, and Muhammad Takai include criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, false statement production, and misappropriation of funds.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the charges allege they mishandled the statutory allocations of the 44 local governments, which were channelled into the State Joint Local Governments account from the Federation account.

The defendants are accused of diverting ₦57.4 billion by funneling money through personal accounts of local government cashiers and other individual and corporate accounts. The charges further allege that they converted these funds into dollars for personal gain.

The government claims the accused acquired several properties with the funds, including a service apartment on Murtala Muhammad Way, a commercial property at Akoya Oxygen in Dubai, and a plot at Damac Height, Marsa Dubai Marina. Additionally, the allegations mention a multi-billion-naira hotel in Jabi, Abuja.

The state has declared its intent to present 143 witnesses during the trial. However, a court date has not yet been scheduled.

Recall that on April 4, the Kano State Government filed charges against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat Umar, and six others in the Kano High Court.

The others charged include Ganduje’s son, Umar Abdullahi Umar, and several business entities like Lamash Properties Ltd., Safari Textiles Ltd., and Lesage General Enterprises.