Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Sunday raided the residence of the immediate-past governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, in Talata Mafara, about 100km away from the state capital, Gusau.
Witnesses said the operatives, numbering more than 20, came in seven vehicles, including a bus for the operation that lasted for five hours.
According to DAILY NIGERIAN, the operatives arrived at the residence around 6pm and left around 11pm.
It is however unclear whether the anti-graft operatives have found anything incriminating during the raid.
Sources said the governor and his family were not in the house during the raid.
Locals who trooped to witness the operation, booed the anti-graft operatives, chanting “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar…”
The raid might be related to petition by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Zamfara State, Sani Shinkafi, who had expressed his resolve to approach a court to compel the EFCC to probe the tenure of Mr Yari.
Mr Shinkafi said he had written a petition to the EFCC but no action was taken by the anti-graft agency.
He said he would get “an order of mandamus to compel the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mr. Ibrahim Magu, and the Commission to commence investigation into the alleged looting by a former governor of the state, Abdulaziz Yari, amounting to over N251billion”.
Mr Shinkafi alleged that Mr Yari left liabilities from ongoing projects to the tune N151,190,477,572.02.
“Unremitted national housing fund deductions from salaries from 2016 to 2019 stands at N1,431,645,305,99. The liabilities under the ministry of education which involves external examinations and institutions such as Crescent University Abeokuta, Al-Hikma University Ilorin and Key Science Academy Abuja stands at N2.812.172.155.
“The committee further discovered that out of the two billion naira approved by the Yari administration for the payment of backlog of gratuity owed to retired workers in the state, only retired permanent secretaries were paid to the tune of only N400,000.00, a whopping sum of one billion six hundred million is unaccounted for.
“We call on the commission to investigate, prosecute and convict former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, over the misappropriation, diversion, siphoning and financial recklessness of N251billion as alleged by the Transition Committee Chairman headed by the immediate past Deputy Governor of the Zamfara State Malam Ibrahim Wakkala,” Mr Shinkafi said.
Mr Shinkafi also accused Yari of going against due process in the award of rural electrification contracts to the tune of N25 billion to a company.
He also said the former governor awarded construction of township roads across 14 local governments of the state to the tune of over N75 billion.
Mr Shinkafi also said the contract was jointly awarded and funded by the 14 local government councils and state government by the past administration without recourse to due process.
EFCC is yet to react to the raid.
Daily Nigerian
