The immediate past Chairman of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC), Muhuyi Magaji Rimin-Gado, has accused powerful interests of orchestrating his arrest in a bid to frustrate an ongoing multibillion-naira corruption case involving former Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and members of his family.
Rimin-Gado, who spoke after regaining freedom on Saturday, said he was detained for over 24 hours by a heavily armed squad of police operatives who claimed to be acting on the orders of the Inspector-General of Police.
He insisted that his arrest was not only unlawful but a clear attempt to intimidate him as the lead prosecution counsel in the controversial Dala Inland Dry Port case.
‘My arrest has everything to do with the Ganduje trial’
Narrating how he was taken away from his office in Kano on Friday, the former PCACC chairman said he demanded a warrant of arrest, but the operatives refused to present any document.
“I was sandwiched between two armed officers, with three more in the front seat. They drove me through the night like some dangerous fugitive,” he said.
“We arrived in Abuja around 3 a.m. When we got there, they served me fresh charges—malicious charges and defamation.”
He questioned the motive behind the arrest, saying no legal system should allow a defendant in a corruption trial to turn the police against the prosecution.
“Tell me anywhere in the world where someone standing trial hires police officers to arrest the lead prosecution counsel and accuse him of defamation,” he queried.
Rimin-Gado confirmed that he had been released on bail, but the police compelled him to surrender his international passport and report back to Abuja on Wednesday.
The former anti-graft chief returned to private legal practice after leaving office and has since taken up the high-profile dry port case.
Ganduje, a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), alongside his children, is standing trial over allegations that he transferred the state’s 20 per cent equity in the Dala Inland Dry Port to private individuals, including family members and an aide.
The controversy followed a September investigation that exposed how the state’s stake was allegedly diverted before a contract worth more than ₦4 billion was awarded for the port’s infrastructure development.
The Ganduje family has yet to react to the latest developments or the claims made by Rimin-Gado.
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