On Tuesday, Barrister Muhyi Magaji Rimin-Gado, the head of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCAC), announced that his commission had apprehended and detained Alhaji Idris Wada Saleh, the former works and infrastructure commissioner.
He was arrested along with three accomplices, on charges of embezzling N1 billion. During a press conference held on the same day, Barrister Rimin-Gado revealed the identities of those implicated in the purported billion-naira fraudulent scheme.
On Monday evening, Barrister Rimin-Gado suggested that Mustapha Madaki Huguma, who formerly held positions as Managing Director of Kano Road Maintenance Agency, Permanent Secretary of Public Procurement Bureau, Director of Finance, Director of Research and Planning, and several others, was apprehended.
They were apprehended for allegedly withdrawing an excess of N1 billion intended for the restoration of 30 roads and drainage systems in the city, despite the absence of any actual execution of the project.
Nevertheless, he revealed that despite the admission of guilt by the trio, who happened to be employees of the state government, they claimed they had been instructed to withdraw the funds to avoid persecution or dismissal if they refused to comply with the directives.
Barrister Rimin-Gado further stated that the money, disbursed in three separate installments, was deposited into the bank accounts of three different companies approximately a month after the former governor, Ganduje, suffered defeat in the elections.
He asserted that the individuals taken into custody have provided explicit admissions regarding payments made for services that were never rendered. He emphasized that the companies to which the funds were disbursed were fraudulent, exhibiting nearly identical letterheads and lacking any substantial physical presence.
Furthermore, he pointed out that, astonishingly, the Public Procurement Bureau issued a certificate of no objection for the contract even though the payment had been made ten days prior, a clear violation of the Kano State Procurement Act of 2021.
Furthermore, he revealed that the Due Process Office stated that the certificate of no objection had been granted based on the assertion made by the Kano Road Maintenance Agency that the road rehabilitation would be executed using direct labor.
However, upon examining the submitted documents, it became evident that the contents contradicted this claim.
NigeriaNow (
)
