Muhuyi Rimingado, the chairman of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC), has claimed that one of the suspects his commission has been investigating sent the police to arrest him.
Rimingado said this on a Channels TV programme on Monday.
He described the development as unsurprising, noting that “corruption was fighting back”.
Rimingado added that three different federal agencies have been activated against him.
READ ALSO: Police Summon Kano PCACC Chair Muhuyi Rimingado for Unknown Reasons
“There was an investigation that we carried out and we realised that about N4 billion of funds of Kano State Government has been siphoned through different entities by a public officer,” Rimingado said during the interview.
“We investigated that public officer and we seized the properties in accordance with the laid-down procedures and the provisions of the law. Section 40 of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission provides adequate provisions and we did and we charged the matter to court.
“After the arraignment and the detainment of the accused, he came up with a series of tactics to snatch away the exhibit of the crime and that is not allowed in law. So, we employed moves that entailed roving the property from where it was to a different safe place so that it would not be tampered with till the court decides on the matter. I think that is what ignited them.
READ ALSO: FLASHBACK: Ganduje, Tinubu’s New FAAN Chair, Caught Red-Handed Receiving Dollar Bribe
“When they cannot wait for the court processes and they know they cannot succeed in that case, they now activate the police to arrest me.”
Rimingado said the policemen who came for his arrest on Friday accused him of abuse of power, mischief and trespass.
On Saturday, FIJ reported how the PCACC chair was invited for interrogation at the police headquarters in Abuja. The questioning is expected to be held on Monday.
In July 2023, PCACC, under Rimingado’s leadership, began an investigation into accusations of bribery against Abdullahi Ganduje, the incumbent chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In the build-up to the investigation, the commission said it was looking into 2017 videos captured by Jafaar Jafaar, an investigative journalist who filmed Ganduje collecting wads of dollars as a bribe.
READ ALSO: UPDATED: Kano Gov’t Claims Hoodlums Stole Ganduje Trial Documents From State High Court
The giver of the bribe was said to be one of Kano’s major contractors. Ganduje, who was the governor of Kano at the time, was filmed collecting the wads of dollars and stuffing them in his pocket.
Rimingado later stated that forensic analysis had shown that the videos were authentic. PCACC also extended an invitation to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to become a partner in the investigation.
Apart from first denying the contents of the video when it surfaced and maintaining his innocence, Ganduje took notable legal action.
He filed a suit at the Kano State High Court, seeking to prevent the EFCC from investigating him regarding the matter.
Ganduje requested that the court restrain the anti-graft agency from taking action against him until a separate lawsuit between him and Jafaar, who recorded the video, was resolved.
READ ALSO: Kano Anti-Graft Agency Probes Ganduje’s Dollar Video
Despite the discovery, Ganduje went on to become the chairman of the APC, President Bola Tinubu’s political party, in 2023.
Interestingly, the Kano State Government would later accuse “hoodlums disguised as #EndBadGovernance protesters” of stealing documents it was using in the high court trial of Ganduje. This claim was made in August.
The next court hearing on Ganduje’s fraud case is slated for February 13.
It remains unclear whether Rimingado’s invitation by the police would have any effect on Ganduje’s case or not.
The post ‘Suspect Sent Police After Me,’ Says Kano Anti-Corruption Commission Chair appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.