Ex-Gov Abdulahi Ganduje Haunted By 2018 ‘Gandollar Incident’ As Kano Anti-graft Agency Invites Him For Questioning

Former governor Abdulahi Ganduje of Kano state has gotten haunted by past mistakes as the state anti-graft body has asked him to make himself available for cross-questioning.

This is coming barely two months after Ganduje lost ‘immunity’.

It will be recalled that after news broke in 2018 that he had taken bribe, the then Kano state Commissioner for Information, Mohammed Garba, had not only denied the allegations but also threatened a legal action.

‘We wish to state that there is no iota of truth in respect of these allegations and if indeed there is any such alleged video, it is at best cloned.

The government of Kano state is taking this matter seriously and will exploit every appropriate and legal avenue to ensure that it gets to the root of the matter and that  the perpetrators are brought to book’  he  had submitted. 

 Five years ago, a video of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje where he was seen accepting a bribe from a contractor had surfaced on social media after getting published by an online news outlet.

The governor, who was wearing ‘babaringa’,  was seen  receiving bundles of dollar bills  and  he was filmed as he had his pocket stuffed with the dollar bills.

He had allegedly requested $5 million from the contractor, who recorded the video .

A few days after leaving office and losing immunity, Ganduje  had asked the state  high court to perpetually restrain the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from inviting or investigating him in respect of the matter.

‘A declaration of this Honourable Court that by virtue of the supremacy of the 1999 constitution as established by Sections 1 (1) thereof, since the Kano state house of assembly has begun investigation pursuant to its powers under section 128 of the 1999 constitution in connection with the video clips of bribery allegation against Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

The defendant cannot exercise its investigative powers under the Sections 6, 7, 13 and 46 of the Economic and Financial Crimes (Establishment) Act 2004 (EFCC ACT), until after the Kano state house of assembly concludes or bring its investigation to an end.

A declaration of this Honourable Court that by virtue of the supremacy of the 1999 constitution as established by Sections I (1) thereof, and the doctrine of separation of powers since there is a pending Case No: CV/1598/2021, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Jaafar Jafaar & Anor, before high court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (Coram: Hon. Justice Y. Halilu) in which Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is challenging the authenticity of the said video clips.

The defendant cannot exercise its investigative powers under the sections 6, 7 and 13 of the Economic and Finance Crimes (Establishment) Act 2004 (CFCC ACT), until after the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (Coram: Hon. Justice Y. Halilu) has decided the matter before it’ he had submitted.

The Kano state Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) has however, asked Ganduje to make himself available for interrogation, chairman of the anti-graft agency, Barrister Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado,  had also submitted that the videos in question are authentic.

Speaking during a one-day public dialogue on ‘Anti-Corruption Crusade in Kano’, Muhuyi   said the videos were subjected to forensic analysis and have been confirmed to be authentic.

Team@orientactualmags.com learned that he has also disclosed that Ganduje has been formally invited and would be expected to provide necessary information with regard to the matter.

‘I have signed a letter to invite him for questioning at the commission next week because this is what the law says and we will provide an  ample opportunity for him to defend himself’ he submitted while appearing on Channels TV’s Lunchtime Politics programme on Thursday.

 ‘We have what the law provides, the law is coercive in nature, it compels obedience. The law doesn’t lobby you to come and do certain things. There are procedures and we will follow all the necessary steps to do what is needful’  he also submitted when asked what the commission would do if the former governor chose to ignore the invitation-Team@orientactualmags.com
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