As commission ‘unintentionally” summons Sanusi’s wife over alleged misappropriation of N3.4bn

Kano—A High Court sitting in Kano, has again,  ordered Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II to maintain status quo in respect of the earlier interim order issued against the governor on May 10,2019.

According to a report by News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, on May 10, the court through the ex-parte application by the applicant, Rabiu Gwarzo, had restrained Ganduje and all other respondents in the case from appointing or recognising any purported emir under the Kano State Emirs Appointment and Disposition Amendment Law 2019, pending the hearing of motion on notice.

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In his ruling, Justice Nasiru Saminu, ordered that all the parties in the suit should  maintain status quo pending the hearing of motion on notice. The matter was later adjourned till July 15,2019 for hearing.

Earlier, counsel to Ganduje, the former Attorney-General of Kano State, Ibrahim Mukhtar, urged the court to vacate the order since it was issued over 20-days-ago and had expired.

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“An exparte order has seven days life span under,  Section 39 sub section III and Section IV grants the court power to extend the life span of an exparte order.”

The counsel to the applicant, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, objected to the oral application to vacate the order, by informing the court that the application should be accompanied with a written address.

 Meanwhile, Emir Sanusi’s wife was ‘unintentionally’ invited for questioning in relation to a fraud probe, an official said on Thursday.

The Chairman of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-corruption Commission, Muhuyi Magaji, told the News Agency of Nigeria that when the commission realised it invited Mrs Sanusi, it withdrew the invitation and that of 29 others

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported how an initial report by the commission indicted Sanusi and the Kano Emirate Council of misappropriating N3.4 billion.

The emirate however, denied any wrongdoing by  Sanusi and other indicted persons and secured a court injunction to stall the investigation. Most Nigerians believe Sanusi was being victimised by the Kano State Governor, Umar Ganduje, for allegedly opposing the governor’s re-election bid.

Speaking on the probe of the emirate council, Magaji said the commission had withdrawn the letters of invitation issued to about 30 people.

He explained that the commission found it necessary to withdraw the invitation following the discovery of the name of the wife of the Emir of Kano, Sanusi, on the list of those invited for investigation, saying it was not intentional.

Inviting the Emir’s wife

“The commission recently invited more than 30 people to appear before it but one of the wives of the emir was found to be a beneficiary of medical assistance, which was one of the expenditures the commission was investigating, “The issue of the emir’s wife and any other person, apart from the District Heads, we don’t know them.

“It didn’t even come over to any one of us that the emir’s wife will be among those to benefit from medical assistance.

“Nobody expected the wife of the emir to be among the beneficiaries of the medical assistance. I want to state that we don’t know that the wife of the emir was among those invited,” an official stated.

The chairman, therefore, urged for the cooperation of the emirate council to conclude the investigation and advised the public to disregard any insinuation aimed at frustrating the probe.