Wilson Adekumola
Kano Chief Magistrate Court ordered that Sharia court judges, a cashier and other financial registrars be remanded in prison custody over alleged N580.2 million theft on Thursday.
Bashir Kurawa, Sadatu Umar, Tijani Abdullahi, Marayyam Jibrin-Garba, Shamsu Sani and Hussaina Imam were among those police alleged and charged with five counts of criminal breach of trust by a public servant, theft and forgery.
Others were Sani Ali Muhammad, Sani Buba-Alyu, Bashir Baffa, Garzali wada, Hadi Tijjani Mu’azu, Alkasim Abdullahi, Yusus Abdullahi, Mustapha Baba Ibrahim, Jafar Ahmad, Adamu balarabe, Aminu Abdulkadir, Abdullahi Zango and Garba Yusuf.
Chief magistrate Mustapha Sa’ad-Datti ordered the remand of the defendants and adjourned the matter until February 1 for hearing.
People Gazzette reported that the prosecution counsel Zahraddeen Kofar-Mata told the court that the Kano state Public Complaints and anti-Corruption Commission received an official complaint from the state ministry of justice on August 20, 2021.
The Prosecutor, Mr.Kofar alleged that between 2020 and 2021, Mr Imam used her position as a cashier at the Kano Sharia court of Appeal conspired with four others and another individual, Suleiman, now at large, to forge letterheads of the court.
He said, “The defendants forged the signatures of the two signatories to the Stanbic IBTC bank account 0020667440 belonging to the Kano State Sharia Court of Appeal and stole N484 million.”
Mr Kofar-Mata alleged further that the defendants fraudulently authorized the bank to transfer the said amount to various bank accounts without the consent of the authorized person.
He also alleged that from 2018 to 2021, the defendants criminally conspired, breached the trust as public servant, connived and created 15 fake civil servants’ death benefit files and fraudulently siphoned the sum of 96.2 million.
The prosecutor added that ,”The 96,2 million was remitted by Kano State Prison Fund Trustee to the bank accounts of Kano state Sharia Court of Appeal. The defendants stole the said amount through eight Sharia Court of Appeal without the consent of the authority.”
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The defense counsel, Garzalli Datti, then prayed the court to exercise its jurisdiction judiciously and admit the defendants on bail.