The police on Saturday released the lawyer prosecuting former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and his children in the multi-billion-naira dry port ownership scandal.
The lawyer, Muhuyi Magaji, is the immediate past chairman of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission.
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He was appointed by the state government to prosecute Mr Ganduje regarding the dry port ownership scandal.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Kano State Government filed criminal charges at the state high court against Mr Ganduje and his children over the change of ownership of the dry port.
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Mr Magaji was arrested at his office on Friday by the police, allegedly from the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) squad, and taken to Abuja.
Following his release, he told reporters that the police arrested him based on petitions written against him by Mr Ganduje and former Managing Director of Kano State Agricultural Company (KASCO), Bala Inuwa.
He said that in the petition, Mr Ganduje accused him of malicious charges over the Kano State Government’s equity in Dala Inland Dry Port Limited.
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PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Kano State Government filed criminal charges at the State High Court against Mr Ganduje and his children, over the ownership of the facility.
Mr Ganduje, who was the governor between 2015 and 2023, is scheduled to appear before the state high court on 18 December, alongside his three children and Abubakar Bawuro, to face a 10-count charge of criminal conspiracy, misappropriation of public funds, breach of trust, and conflict of interest.
Others charged by the state government include former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Hassan Bello, and Mr Ganduje’s family lawyer, Adamu Aliyu-Sanda.
The prosecution also alleged that the defendants diverted over ₦4.49 billion of Kano State funds to execute infrastructure projects such as a double carriageway, electricity, and perimeter fencing at the dry port for their personal and family benefit.
The defendants also faced charges of abuse of office and conflict of interest, as it was alleged that they leveraged their official roles to redirect public resources for personal benefit, thereby violating financial and constitutional regulations.
The prosecution has assembled several key witnesses, including government officials who were allegedly manipulated to sign documents that perfected fraudulent transactions from the state government to the Dala Inland Dry Port Limited.
In September, PREMIUM TIMES’ investigation also exposed how Mr Ganduje secretly transferred the state government’s 20 per cent stake in the facility to private hands, making his children co-owners of the company before awarding a contract worth more than N4 billion to provide infrastructure for the project.
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The transfer ended Kano State’s shareholding in the project, while Mr Ganduje’s children and aide, Abubakar Bawuro, became directors and shareholders.
The state government accused the defendants of conspiring to fraudulently transfer 80 per cent of the shares of Dala Inland Dry Port, including the state’s 20 per cent equity, to private ownership under the fictitious name “City Green Enterprise”.
The owners of the Dala Port, however, denied any wrongdoing. They told PREMIUM TIMES that the state government never owned any shares at the Dala Port and that they acquired the port legally from its former owner.
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