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Supreme Court Okays Trial Of Kano APC Senatorial Candidate, Abdulkarim Over Alleged Fraud

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November 26, 2022

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck out his two applications to stop the Federal High Court, Kano, from trying him.

The All Progressives Congress, APC senatorial candidate for Kano Central, Abdulsalam Abdulkarim, more commonly called A.A. Zaura, has lost his bid to stop his corruption trial. 

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck out his two applications to stop the Federal High Court, Kano, from trying him, Daily Nigerian reports.

In dismissing the applications, the apex court further directed the APC senatorial candidate to appear before the Federal High Court Kano to face the charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The APC candidate is being accused by the Commission for defrauding a Kuwaiti Citizen of the sum of $1,320,000 (One Million Three Hundred and Twenty Thousand Dollars) under the pretext that he is in the business of building properties in Dubai, Kuwait and other Arab countries. 

On the June 9, 2020, Justice A.L Allagoa dismissed the charges against Mr Zaura.

But dissatisfied at the ruling, the prosecution proceeded to the Appellate Court in Kano. 

The Appeal Court in a unanimous decision by a three man panel, delivered by Justice Abdullahi M. Bayero, set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court and ordered that the defendant be tried afresh by a different judge.

The case was subsequently assigned to Justice Mohammed Nasir Yunusa for retrial and arraignment fixed for 31st of October, 2022.

But since then the APC candidate had been playing hide and seek by refusing to appear before the court on three occasions.

Instead of appearing for arraignment, he headed for the apex court with two applications, one seeking for interim injunction and the other for an interlocutory injunction to restrain the Federal High Court Kano from taking any step in the case pending the hearing of his appeal at the Supreme Court.

However, when the matter was mentioned on Thursday, the five-man panel of justices led by Justice Inyang Okoro ruled that the Supreme Court had no power under the law to stay proceedings in a criminal matter.

The court advised the applicant to withdraw the applications. Both applications were withdrawn and the same struck out, with no objection from the respondent’s counsel, l Musa Isah.