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Battle Against Corruption Is Like Fighting Colombian Drug Cartels, Says Kano Anti-Corruption Tzar

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The fight against corruption in Nigeria is as dangerous as fighting armed Colombian drug cartels, former Chairman of Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC), Muhyi Magaji Rimin Gado, has said.

The Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar and the Cali Cartel dominated cocaine trafficking, leading Colombia to vast illicit wealth for the few whose crimes promoted corruption, violence, mass public revenge, and prolonged bloody gunfights with the authorities. The PCACC was established in April 2005 to fight corruption in Kano State.

Mr. Magaji also warned that the increase in violence and banditry in the North is partly linked to the naked abuse and stealing of public funds by corrupt officials whose self-serving policies create a stagnant pool of poverty and human misery from which criminals find many potential recruits.

He said it was when he started investigating corruption petitions, doing his statutory duties, that he discovered the suspect companies were linked to his former Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, discovering that a lot of Public-Private Partnership Initiatives were actually linked to the former Governor. He said he also discovered billions of illicit funds relating to the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), especially concerning fraudulent land rents.

The anti-corruption crusader said his experience while investigating an avalanche of corruption cases in Kano indicated that corrupt politicians are like cancerous ailments that should be removed through a painful but necessary surgical operation before Nigeria can reclaim her pride in the comity of nations.

He said Nigerians should explore democratic opportunities to the brim by casting their votes against a league of corrupt elites that have sold the birthrights of the people.

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He said his decision to investigate the looting of billions of public funds in Kano State under former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje spurred ceaseless threats to his life and that of his family, culminating in his arrest last week Friday by tens of armed security guards who drove him from Kano to Abuja in the night where he was locked up. He said for 17 hours he and his family were subjected to harrowing experiences. He said the armed men bundled him into a vehicle where he was sandwiched between armed policemen who drove in the night from Kano to Abuja in order to gag him. He said if armed bandits had attacked the convoy, there was only a slim chance that any of them would escape.

“The cases I started investigating in Kano involved billions of public funds diverted by public officials. They are desperate to kill in order to sit on stolen funds. They are as dangerous as drug cartels in Colombia. Fighting them is like fighting drug lords.”

He said corruption cannot be fought effectively when law enforcement agents are compromised by the same corrupt politicians who have no respect for accountability.

Rimin Gado said some policemen are currently being used against him by powerful but stupendously corrupt politicians who feed on the misery of the toiling masses. He said he was deeply concerned that the Police initiated criminal investigation into a judicial process, duly initiated under Section 211 of the Nigerian Constitution, and that it is prejudicial for the police to hunt and malign someone who has filed corruption charges on behalf of the State against politicians that consistently ruin the frontiers of democracy and human prosperity.

“I was given fiat by the Attorney General to prosecute allegations of offenses against the laws of Kano State. Why arrest me for doing what I have a legal duty to do? Why not arrest the State if they can?

“The police have no legal or moral reasons to enquire about what is already before the Court of Law, especially a criminal matter which the court had already taken cognizance of,” he said.

He spoke as a Keynote Speaker on the topic Youth as Catalyst of Integrity: Building a Corruption-Free Future for Nigeria, at the Public Presentation of the 19th Edition of the Compendium on 100 Profile Corruption Cases in Nigeria held in Lagos on Tuesday. The event was organised by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) in partnership with local and international groups to mark this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day celebration. The theme of the conference was Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity.

Rimin Gado said from his experience in Kano, corrupt politicians are as vicious as the world’s most violent drug lords who are prepared to kill and burn the country down rather than face justice or give up their crimes. He said prosperity and development in Nigeria would remain stunted as long as corrupt actors dominate the political economy.

 

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SSANU Threatens Indefinite Strike, Gives FG December 31 Ultimatum

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Comrade Mustafa Ameen SSANU chairman BUK chapter

 

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) BUK chapter said the union has set 31st December as the target date for a nationwide indefinite strike by the union.

The Chairman of SSANU BUK chapter, Comrade Mustafa Aminu, stated this after rising from a meeting of the association held at Bayero University main campus.

Malam Mustafa Aminu told newsmen, including Nigerian Tracker correspondent, that there is need for the Government to invite their members for discussion in order to curtail the planned nationwide industrial action.

According to him, the issue of their 2009 Agreement is yet to be implemented by the Government, which includes 23 percent, 35 percent, and the earned allowances.

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Initially, the Government agreed to give 40 percent for SSANU, but when the money was released, which is 50 billion Naira, the Government decided to give 40 billion Naira to their sister union ASUU and decided to give other unions, including SSANU, the remaining 10 billion Naira to share, which is very unfair and uncalled for, and they are not happy with it, said Mustafa Aminu.

On their grievances, there are many if one checks the 2009 Agreement, which includes autonomy.

Mustafa Amin added that they are calling on the Government to do something, noting that if the target date is reached without calling them, the strike will be total and indefinite.

He said of all the unions in the University, which included ASUU, SSANU, and NASU, only ASUU was called by the Government for discussion.

He said it is like you are having four children in your house and you call the eldest for discussion; definitely the remaining children will not be happy.

He said ASUU has an aggressive nature of pressing home its demand, while SSANU is administrative.

Members of the union, Bayero University chapter, who retired this year were supported with funds ranging from 250 thousand Naira to 150 thousand Naira.

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Anambra State Former Governor, Ngige, Detained By EFCC

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Chris Ngige, former Minister of Labour, and as well former governor of Anambra State, is currently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Fred Chukwuelobe, the ex-Minister’s media aide, confirmed this in an update on Thursday morning.

Chukwuelobe gave the real situation of things while reacting to reports that Ngige, who was governor of Anambra, had been abducted.

“I have been receiving calls in the past hour from friends and journalists seeking the veracity of the news making the rounds that His Excellency, Dr. Chris Ngige, former governor of Anambra state and immediate past minister of labour and employment, ‘has been kidnapped, Ngige is with the EFCC. He was not ‘abducted’ or ‘kidnapped’,’” he posted on Facebook.

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It is unclear why the agency detained Ngige as the anti-graft agency is yet to react to the development as of the time of filing this report.

Ngige is the second ex-President Muhammadu Buhari-era minister to be detained by the EFCC in recent times.

Abubakar Malami, former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, is also in custody.

Malami had disclosed that he was being probed over recovery of “Abacha loot”.

“The EFCC informed me that its inquiry relates to an alleged duplication in the recovery of the $310 million Abacha loot, which by accrual of interest rose to about $322.5 million as at the time I eventually succeeded in recovering the funds for the federal Government and, flowing from that assumption, two allegations were majorly raised, namely; abuse of office, and Money laundering,” he had said in a statement.

He, however, described the allegations as baseless, illogical and wholly devoid of substance, saying they would collapse, when subjected to facts and elementary logic.

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Governor Yusuf Approves Appointment of Prof. Amina Bayero as VC, Northwest University

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Kano State Governor, Governor Yusuf Approves Appointment of Prof. Amina Bayero as VC, Northwest University Abba Kabir Yusuf, has confirmed the appointment of Professor Amina Salihi Bayero as the substantive Vice Chancellor of Northwest University for a five-year tenure beginning Monday, 1st December, 2025.

This was contained in a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, on Thursday.

The approval follows a recommendation by the University Council after a rigorous selection process.

Governor Yusuf, as Visitor to the University, commended the Council Chairman and members for their dedication to merit and integrity throughout the exercise.

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He also requested prayers for Allah’s guidance upon the new Vice Chancellor as she assumes the responsibilities of her office.

Prof. Amina Salihi Bayero is a distinguished scholar of Analytical Chemistry and the first female PhD holder in Chemistry from Bayero University Kano.

She has served in several academic and administrative capacities, including Head of Department, Dean of the Faculty of Science, and Deputy Vice Chancellor at Yusuf Maitama Sule University.

She is widely respected for her research contributions, leadership qualities, and commitment to mentoring young scientists.

Her appointment is expected to strengthen academic excellence and promote greater gender inclusion in higher education across Kano State.

 

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