The All Progressives Congress (APC) has suspended Abdullahi Ganduje as its national chairman.
Ganduje was suspended by members of his ward, the Ganduje Ward, in the Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State on Monday.
His suspension followed alleged corruption charges levelled against him by the state government.
Recall that the Kano High Court had said Ganduje will, on April 17, 2024, be arraigned on charges bothering allegations of bribery, diversion, and misappropriation of funds, including the purported acceptance of $413,000 and N1.38bn in bribes.
Haruna Dederi, the Kano State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, confirmed the development and stated that Ganduje, along with his wife and six others, would face arraignment.
The accused individuals, as listed in the writ of summons, include Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Hafsat Umar, Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Ltd., Safari Textiles Ltd., and Lesage General Enterprises.
The Kano Sate Government, which initiated the criminal suit against the eight respondents, declared its readiness to present 15 witnesses to testify before Justice Usman Na’aba of State High Court number four.
“It is very true. We have filed the case, and it’s going to hold on April 17, 2024. What I cannot confirm is whether he is served or not, but he will definitely be served,” he said.
Dederi further highlighted the significance of accountability in governance, remarking, “What he (Ganduje) doesn’t understand is that you cannot run away from the evil day; it will definitely come to you, and this will even serve as a deterrent to all of us that are also in government now.”
The commissioner also addressed the jurisdictional aspect of the case, asserting, “He was saying that we can’t prosecute him, forgetting that the offence also falls under the category of state offences.”.
“It’s not totally a federal affair, and we have even appealed to Justice Liman’s ruling on that.”
