The police had charged suspects with five counts of criminal conspiracy, joint act, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, theft and forgery.
Two State Shari’a Court judges, a cashier and 16 other financial registrars were on Thursday remanded in prison by a Kano State Chief Magistrates’ Court over alleged N580.2 million theft.
The police had charged suspects with five counts of criminal conspiracy, joint act, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, theft and forgery.
The suspects include Bashir Kurawa, Saadatu Umar, Tijjani Abdullahi, Maryam Jibrin-Garba, Shamsu Sani and Hussaina Imam, Sani Ali Muhammad, Sani Buba-Aliyu and Bashir Baffa.
Others are Garzali Wada, Hadi Tijjani Mu’azu, Alkasim Abdullahi, Yusuf Abdullahi, Mustapha Bala Ibrahim, Jafar Ahmad, Adamu Balarabe, Aminu Abdulkadir, Abdullahi Zango and Garba Yusuf.
Presenting his case against the defendants, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Zahraddeen Kofar-Mata, reportedly told the court that an official complaint was received by the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission from the State Ministry of Justice on August 20, 2021, Vanguard reports.
According to the prosecution counsel, between 2020 and 2021, Hussaina Imam used her position as a cashier at the State Shari’a Court of Appeal to conspire with four others and one Suleiman now at large, to forge letterheads of the Sharia Court of Appeal.
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.”
Kofar-Mata further alleged that the defendants fraudulently authorised the bank to transfer the amount to various bank accounts without the consent of the authorised persons.
The lawyer also alleged that from 2018 to 2021, the defendants criminally conspired, breached the trust as a public servant, acted jointly and create 15 fake civil servants’ death benefit files and fraudulently siphoned the sum of N96.2 million.
“The N96.2 million was remitted by the Kano State Pension Fund Trustee to the bank accounts of Kano State Sharia Court Appeal.
“The defendants stole the said amount through eight Sharia Courts under the Kano State Sharia Court Appeal without the consent of the authorizing authority,” he said.
The prosecution counsel pointed out that the offence contravened the provisions of sections 97, 79, 315, 287 and 363 of the Penal Code.
However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges after it was read to them, hence, the defence counsel, Malam Garzali Datti, urged the court to exercise its jurisdiction judiciously and admit the defendants on bail.
Datti argued that the application was brought pursuant to sections 35 and 36 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 as amended,168 and 172 of Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2019 Kano.
But in his decision, the Chief Magistrate, Mustapha Sa’ad-Datti, ordered that the defendants should be remanded in prison while he adjourned the matter until February 1, 2023, for a hearing.