Kano govt reopens ex-Gov Ganduje dollar bribe case

Kano govt reopens ex-Gov Ganduje dollar bribe case

The Kano State Government has moved against former governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje, as it files an eight-count charge against him alleging that he collected $200,000 bribe from a contractor.

It was filed before the Kano High Court, saying the offence contravened the state Public Complaints and Anti-Commission Commission Law 2008.

The state governor Abba Yusuf has also set up two judicial panels to probe cases of political violence and misappropriation of public assets during the Ganduje administration.

This is contained in a statement on Thursday by Sanusi Bature, the governor’s media aide.

The suit listed the defendants in the case as Ganduje, Hafsat Umar, Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lesaga General Enterprises

The state government also accused Ganduje of collecting $210,000 kickback from entities seeking a remodelling contract of Kantin Kwari textile market.

Ganduje, now national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), served as governor of Kano between 2015 and 2023.

In 2018, Daily Nigerian, an online newspaper, published a video of Ganduje allegedly receiving bundles of dollars from contractors, which he stuffed into the pocket of his clothes.

The newspaper said the former governor requested $5 million as a bribe from the contractors who recorded the video.

In 2023, the Kano state Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) invited Ganduje for questioning over the incident in the video.

The former governor did not honour the invitation and instead instituted a suit against the agency.

In March, a federal high court in Kano stopped the agency from inviting or questioning Ganduje over the bribery allegations.

The court ruled that the agency lacked the power to invite or investigate Ganduje over the allegations.