Alleged N580.2m theft: Court admits 2 Shari’a court judges, cashier, 16 others to bail
A magistrates’ court in Kano on Wednesday granted bail to two Shari’a court judges, a cashier and 16 financial registrars who were remanded for over a N580.2 million theft. The defendants are Sani Ali Muhammad, Sani Buba-Aliyu, Bashir Baffa, Garzali Wada,, Hadi Tijjani Mu’azu, Alkasim Abdullahi, Yusuf Abdullahi, Mustapha Bala Ibrahim, Jafar Ahmad, Adamu Balarabe, […]
A magistrates’ court in Kano on Wednesday granted bail to two Shari’a court judges, a cashier and 16 financial registrars who were remanded for over a N580.2 million theft.
The defendants are Sani Ali Muhammad, Sani Buba-Aliyu, Bashir Baffa, Garzali Wada,, Hadi Tijjani Mu’azu, Alkasim Abdullahi, Yusuf Abdullahi, Mustapha Bala Ibrahim, Jafar Ahmad, Adamu Balarabe, Aminu Abdulkadir,Abdullahi Zango and Garba Yusuf.
Others are Hussaina Imam,Bashir Kurawa, Saadatu Umar, Tijjani Abdullahi, Maryam Garba and Shamsu Sani. They are standing trial on five count of criminal conspiracy, joint act, criminal breach of trust, theft and forgery.
In his ruling, the Magistrate, Mustapha Sa’ad-Datti, admitted the two Shari’a Court judges and 12 others to N1m bail and two reliable sureties in like sum.
He said one of the sureties must deposit the sum of N200,000 as security, while the second surety must provide a landed property with a title document worth N10m in Kano.
Sa’ad-Datti also admitted a cashier (Hussaina) and four others to bail in the sum of N10m each and two sureties in like sum.
He urged the prosecution to provide all the necessary documents concerning the matter to the defense counsel and adjourned the case to February 14.
Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Mr Zahraddeen Kofar-Mata, told the court that from 2018 to 2021, the two Shari’a court judges criminally conspired with 12 others, breached trust as public servants, acted jointly and created 15 fake civil servants’ death benefit files and fraudulently siphoned the sum of N96.2m.
He said, “The alleged N96.2m was remitted by the Kano State Pension Fund Trustee to the bank accounts of the Kano State Sharia Court of Appeal.”
Kofar-Mata also alleged that between 2020 and 2021, Hussaina used her position as a cashier at the Shari’a Court of Appeal, conspired with four others and forged letter headed papers 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 N484m.”
He alleged that the defendants fraudulently authorised the bank to transfer the amount to various bank accounts without the consent of the authorised persons.
He further said, “The defendants stole the said amount through eight Sharia courts under the Kano State Sharia Court Appeal without the consent of the authorising authority.”
The defendants, however, denied committing the offences.
The Defence Counsels, Mr Garzali Datti, M. I. Galadanchi and seven others cited bail applications pursuant to Sections 35 and 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2019 Kano.