The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday secured the final forfeiture of 324 properties misappropriated by the administration of a former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The properties were said to have been misappropriated by the Kano State Pension Fund Trustees during Mr Kwankwaso’s administration in 2015.
Inyang Ekwo, a judge at the Federal High Court, Abuja, gave the order of final forfeiture while ruling on a motion by the EFCC, seeking a final forfeiture of the properties which are “reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities of Kano State Pension Fund Trustees”.
“The properties comprise 168 homes situated at Sheikh Ja’afar Mahmud Adam Bandirawo City, Kano; 122 houses at Sheikh Nasiru Kabara (Amana City), Kano and 38 houses at Sheikh Khalifa Ishaq Rabiu City, Kano.
”The 168 houses at Sheikh Ja’afar Mahmud Adam Bandirawo City are made up of 55 Units of 2-bedroom semi-detached houses; 51 Units of 3-bedroom houses; 7 Units of 3-bedroom converted; 17 Units of 3-bedroom Carport; 3 Units of 4-bedroom Duplex; 9 Units of 5-bedroom Duplex and 22 Units of 3-bedroom Green-roof”, the anti-graft agency said.
According to Premium Times:
The investigation followed a 2015 petition by Concerned Kano State Workers and Pensioners, who alleged that Mr Kwankwaso violated the Kano State Pension and Gratuity Law of 2007 in the management of pension remittances amounting to about N10 billion contributed between 2011 and 2015.
Mr Kwankwaso was Kano’s governor from 1999 to 2003, and from 2011 to 2015.
According to the petitioners, Mr Kwankwaso had directed that pension remittances be used for building houses for pensioners. A tripartite deal was reached between Kano State Pension Trust Funds as the investors and Kano State Investment and Property Limited and Kano State Housing Corporation Limited as developers on a 60:40 sharing ratio.
However, after contracts for the construction of 1,579 houses were awarded for the development of the properties, the petitioners alleged Mr Kwankwaso “manipulated” the process and terminated the term of the agreement. They claimed he then allocated the properties to his aides and cronies.
The alleged misappropriation happened in May 2015, the month Mr Kwankwaso left office as Kano’s governor.
