Abdullahi Ganduje, the recently-departed governor of Kano State, has sought the state’s high court to permanently enjoin the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, from interviewing or inviting him in connection with dollar recordings.
The video clips, which DAILY NIGERIAN published in 2018, showed how the former governor was accepting bundles of dollar bills from a contractor that were thought to be a bribe.
The state House of Assembly later established a committee to look into the allegations, even though the governor has since refuted the information in the tapes.
Even though a new assembly was sworn in on Tuesday, the committee still hadn’t submitted its report.
However, in a lawsuit viewed by TheCable on Wednesday, Mr. Ganduje urged the court to halt the anti-graft agency from looking into him until the outcome of a lawsuit he has with Jafaar Jafaar, publisher of the DAILY NIGERIAN.
Additionally, Mr. Ganduje requested that the court rule that it was unlawful to invite and question the chairman and accountant general of Kano’s state universal basic education board, SUBEB, in relation to the video.
Some of the prayers stated: “A declaration of this Honourable Court that by virtue of the supremacy of the 1999 constitution as established by Section 1 (1) thereof, since the Kano state house of assembly has started an investigation in connection with the video clips of bribery allegations against Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in accordance with its authority under Section 128 of the 1999 constitution.
“Until the Kano State House of Assembly concludes or brings its investigation to an end, the defendant may not exercise its investigative powers under Sections 6, 7, 13, and 46 of the Economic and Financial Crimes (Establishment) Act 2004 (EFCC ACT).
“This Honourable Court hereby declares that in accordance with the supremacy of the 1999 constitution as established by Section I (1) thereof and the doctrine of separation of powers, and in light of the fact that Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is currently contesting the veracity of the aforementioned video clips in Case No. CV/1598/2021 before the high court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (Coram: Hon. Justice Y. Halilu).
According to the Economic and Finance Crimes (Establishment) Act of 2004 (CFCC ACT), “The defendant cannot exercise its investigative powers under the sections 6, 7 and 13 until after the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (Coram: Hon. Justice Y. Halilu) has decided the matter before it.”