A Federal High Court in Kano has been urged to restrain the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from investigating the former governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, over video clips allegedly showing him receiving dollars from a contractor as kickbacks.
The suit was filed by the former Attorney General of Kano State on behalf of Ganduje against the EFCC as the sole defendant. The suit was filed on March 23, 2020, few days after the gubernatorial elections in which Ganduje lost to Abba Kabir Yusuf of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). However, the court papers were only delivered to the EFCC on June 5, 2020.
In the originating summons, the former attorney general asked the court to declare that based on the supremacy of the Constitution, the anti-graft agency does not have the right to investigate a case already pending before the state House of Assembly.
He also asked the court to make a mandatory injunction directing the EFCC to withdraw all invitations issued to the Executive Chairman and Director Finance of SUBEB as well as the Accountant General of Kano State in connection with the bribery video.
He further asked the court to make an order of perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from further inviting, investigating or taking any action against Ganduje until after the conclusion of a civil case filed by him against Jaafar Jaafar, the publisher of Daily Nigerian, an online newspaper that released the video clips in 2018.
The video clips published by Daily Nigerian allegedly showed Ganduje stuffing wads of US dollars in his pockets while receiving them from a contractor who claimed he was awarded contracts by the state government.
Ganduje denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said the video clips were doctored and politically motivated. He also sued Jaafar for defamation and claimed N3 billion as damages.
The state House of Assembly set up an investigation committee to probe the bribery allegation but did not make its findings public before the end of its tenure.
The new governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has not made any statement regarding the bribery video since he assumed office.
A civil society organization, War Against Injustice, has also petitioned the EFCC to investigate and prosecute Ganduje over the bribery allegation since he no longer enjoys immunity as a former governor.
Ganduje served as governor of Kano State from 2015 to 2023. He was also deputy governor twice under Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso from 1999 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2015.
He is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and holds a PhD in Public Administration from the University of Ibadan.
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