SAN FRANCISCO, May 15, (THEWILL) – The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, on Monday disclosed that it has built a water-tight case against the Emir Muhammad Sanusi-led Kano Emirate Council.
Chairman of the state agency, Mr Muhuyi Magaji, said the commission has already achieved 80 per cent success into the investigation of alleged misapplication of N6 billion by the Kano Emirate Council.
He stated that although the agency has a strong case against the emirate council, the probe will remain suspended to avoid concurrent investigation.
THEWILL had reported the Kano State House of Assembly as constituting an eight-man Committee to investigate the allegations of funds mismanagement levelled against Sanusi. The council has however denied the allegation, providing details of its expenditure.
NAN quotes Magaji as saying, “We have also identified our primary suspect in the course of the investigation,’’ but declined to name the suspect.
He went on to explain that the commission suspended the probe to avoid a “crisis of concurrent investigation with the state House of Assembly and possible litigation by interested parties’’.
The chairman stated that the state legislature has taken over the case by constituting an eight-man committee to conduct a similar probe when the commission was on top of the situation.
According to him, Section 16 of the law establishing the commission barred it from conducting further investigation into any matter pending before the state House of Assembly and the courts.
Magaji cited the case of Rabiu Salisu and others before the Federal Court of Appeal in suit No: K/37/2016, and suit No: K/M/728/2015, involving Rabiu Ibrahim & Co financial institutions Vs the anti-graft agency to buttress the need for the suspension.
He added that the commission had found out that “all the monies allegedly spent were not appropriated for contrary to the Kano State Emirate Council Law 2004’’.
The law required the council to prepare annual budgets and submit same for appropriation by the legislature.
“But our findings from the Ministry of Budget and Planning confirmed that the Emirate Council has an annual overhead of N15 million and no capital allocation even under Emir Sanusi,’’ the chairman said.
