The besieged Chairman of the Kano State Anti-Corruption and Public Complaints Commission, Muhuyi Magaji, alleges that certain individuals are provoking him to probe the incumbent governor of the state, Abba Kabir.
Magaji, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program on Tuesday, revealed that he initiated investigations into Abdullahi Ganduje, the former governor of the North-West state, during his tenure as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Despite being appointed by Ganduje to lead the agency, Magaji asserted that he would not shy away from prosecuting cases of alleged corruption during the previous administration in the state.
He said, “Incidentally, His Excellency, the former governor was the one that appointed me in 2015 to to head the agency and I was re-appointed in 2020 for another five-year term. Basically, we have an institution in the Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission that is devoid political activities and dedicated to fight corruption, check maladministration and fight injustice.”
“We are not desperate to prosecute Ganduje,” said the state anti-graft chairman who insisted that public officials be accountable.
When asked whether he would also probe the current governor, Magaji said, “That is what people are instigating.”
The Kano anti-graft chairman, who said he was being viewed as a “stubborn person” in some quarters, insisted that the court ruled that money laundering was a federal offence but the commission has the right to probe alleged corruption and maladministration by the Ganduje administration.
More Controversies
Meanwhile, the Kano High Court is set to arraign Ganduje on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, over charges related to allegations of bribery, diversion, and misappropriation of funds, which include the alleged acceptance of $413,000 and N1.38bn in bribes.
Ganduje, who served as Kano governor from May 2015 to May 2023, has faced mounting pressure to step down from his position as the APC national chairman.
The situation took a new turn on Monday when some APC executives in Ganduje’s ward in Kano suspended him, demanding that he clears himself of corruption allegations raised by the state government. However, the state party executives dismissed the suspension and sanctioned the ward officials involved.