Kwankwaso, ex-Kano Governor, arrested, detained by EFCC over alleged misappropriation
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested and detained former Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, for allegedly diverting public funds and allocation of government properties to cronies.
Kwankwaso, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was reportedly first invited by the EFCC in September but failed to honour the invitation.
The arrest and detention on Saturday came after the anti-graft agency sealed property said to belong to the former governor, barely two months ago in Kano State.
Kwankwaso’s arrest was said to have been carried out by EFCC after receiving a petition from some retired employees of the state government.
The retirees had, in their petition before EFCC, claimed that he mismanaged pension remittances to the tune of N10 billion between 2011 and 2015, when he was governor, to fund a housing project for his cronies.
The EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, reportedly did not comment on interrogation of the former governor when contacted by newsmen.
Sources at the EFCC Zonal office in Kano, it was gathered, revealed that sealing of the property was as a result of an ongoing investigation linking the property to proceeds of corruption during Kwankwaso’s tenure in office from 2011 to 2015.
However, a source within the Kwankwasiyya group said the building is the hospital complex the former governor donated to the state government to serve as an Isolation Centre during the COVID-19 pandemic, which the state government said they knew nothing about.
The EFCC source stated that in one of the petitions dated May 27, 2015, Kwankwaso was accused of receiving contributions of N70 million from each of the 44 local councils of the state totaling N3.08 billion, during his 2015 presidential bid.
