A principal witness in the multi-billion-naira port ownership dispute case involving a former Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, was arrested at the airport on Wednesday.
Ahmad Rabiu was arrested at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano by plainclothes officers from the Kano State Police Command, according to his aide, Hanif Umar, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES.
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Mr Rabiu was intercepted while boarding an Air Peace flight bound for Abuja.
At the time of his arrest, he was in the company of Aminu Dabo, a prominent Kano politician and former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
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Mr Umar stated that Mr Rabiu’s flight was cancelled on the orders of the arresting officers.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Rabiu, in a statement to his lawyers, alleged threats to his life after he agreed to testify before the State High Court in the criminal case filed by the Kano State Government regarding the ownership dispute on the Dala Inland Dry Port Limited.
Mr Ganduje and other defendants face a 10-count charge of criminal conspiracy, misappropriation of public funds, breach of trust, and conflict of interest.
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He was charged alongside his aide, Abubakar Bawuro; his lawyer, Adamu Aliyu-Sanda; and the former Managing Director of the Nigeria Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello.
Mr Ganduje had on 14 January filed an objection challenging the service of court processes before the State High Court No. 2, sitting at the Audu Bako Secretariat Complex, presided over by Yusuf Ubale.
Mr Ganduje is asking the court to set aside the order for substituted service, arguing that it is invalid, a nullity, and ultra vires (beyond the court’s legal power).
Mr Ganduje was represented by A.S. Gadanya, SAN, who, along with other defence counsel, objected to the state’s application requesting his arrest for failure to appear in court in person.
The court granted the application to hear the preliminary objections and adjourned the matter to 23 February for a hearing.
Responding to Mr Rabiu’s arrest, the state prosecutor, Muhuyi Magaji, stated that the move was intended to tamper with the ongoing case.
The prosecution has lined up witnesses, including government officials who were allegedly manipulated into signing documents that facilitated fraudulent transfers from the state government to the private port entity.
The state government accused Mr Ganduje and other 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 prosecution also alleged that the defendants diverted over ₦4.49 billion in Kano State funds to execute infrastructure projects, including a double-carriageway, electricity, and perimeter fencing at the dry port, for their personal and family benefit.
The defendants also face 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.
Background
PREMIUM TIMES 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.
The transfer ended Kano State’s shareholding in the project, while Mr Ganduje’s children and aide, Abubakar Bawuro, became directors and shareholders.
What PREMIUM TIMES’ investigation exposed
When Dala Inland Dry Port Limited was incorporated on 8 December 2003, its only directors were the founder, Ahmad Rabiu, and his son, Rabiu Ahmad Rabiu.
Two years later, at an extraordinary general meeting on 19 January 2005, the board was expanded with the appointment of four new directors: Abdulaziz Haladu, Anwar Isyaku-Rabiu, Diepreye George, and Abdullahi Kwaru.
Records obtained by this newspaper show that on 5 March 2020, Mr Ganduje’s three children and his longtime associate, Abubakar Bawuro, replaced Mr Rabiu’s son and all other directors elected in 2005 as board members of the company.
Minutes of the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), held on 5 March 2020, at its Zaria Road office in Kano, confirmed the appointment of Abdulaziz Abdullahi Umar, Umar Abdullahi Umar, and Muhammad Abdullahi Umar—all children of Mr Ganduje —alongside Mr Bawuro as new directors of Dala Inland Dry Port Limited.
It was also at the meeting that the state government was removed as a co-owner of the dry port, and the Ganduje children were appointed not just as directors but also as shareholders, each holding 5 million shares.
READ ALSO: Court refuses to issue arrest warrant for Ganduje over port ownership scandal
According to its “ordinary resolution,” the meeting was “attended by all the shareholders,” and “it was unanimously resolved” that Abdulaziz Abdullah Umar, Umar Abdullahi Umar, and Muhammad Abdullahi Umar —the three children of Mr Ganduje —be allotted five million shares each, each being 20 per cent of the total 25 million shares of the company.
Mr Rabiu and Mr Bawuro were also each allotted 20 per cent, creating a new ownership structure of five equal shareholders, each with 20 per cent of the company’s shares.
This structure edged out the Kano State Government from the ownership of the company.
The state government said due process was not followed in the divestment process, accusing Mr Ganduje of using his office to undermine the state.
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