Court Jails Kano Electoral Chief, Three Others Over Alleged N1.02bn Fraud
Serious questions over public fund management in Nigeria’s electoral institutions moved to the centre of judicial scrutiny on Tuesday as a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the remand of the Chairman of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), Professor Sani Malumfashi, alongside three senior officials of the commission, over alleged financial crimes amounting to N1.02 billion.
The order was made by Justice James Omotosho following the arraignment of the officials on a six-count criminal charge filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). Those remanded with Malumfashi are the Secretary of KANSIEC, Anas Muhammed Mustapha, and the Deputy Director of Accounts, Ado Garba.
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According to the charge before the court, the ICPC alleged that the defendants unlawfully diverted funds belonging to the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission through bank accounts linked to a private agricultural business, SLM Agro Global Farm. The alleged transactions, the anti-corruption agency stated, took place between November and December 2024 within Kano State.
Court documents showed that, in one count, the ICPC accused the defendants of conspiring to take possession of N450 million in cash through two accounts of SLM Agro Global Farm domiciled at Jaiz Bank. The prosecution further alleged that additional sums of N310 million and N260 million were transferred within the same period into two separate Jaiz Bank accounts—numbers 0018222634 and 0015932143—also belonging to the farm.
The ICPC told the court that the alleged actions violated provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, specifically Sections 2(1)(b) and 18(2)(d), and are punishable under Section 18(3) of the Act. The commission maintained that the transactions constituted a deliberate attempt to conceal the source and ownership of public funds allocated to the state electoral body.
When the charges were read, all the defendants pleaded not guilty and applied to be released on bail pending the determination of the case. Their counsel, Mr Mahmud Magaji, SAN, informed the court that his clients had previously been granted administrative bail by the ICPC and had complied fully with its terms.
“My lord, the defendants have been enjoying administrative bail which was given to them by the prosecution. They never violated any of the terms of the administrative bail,” Magaji told the court, adding that he had only recently been briefed to take up the defence.
The prosecution counsel, Dr Osuobeni Akponimisingha, opposed the oral bail request, though he indicated that he would defer to the discretion of the court on the matter.
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In a brief ruling, Justice Omotosho declined the oral application, emphasising that the Federal High Court is a court of record and that proper procedures must be followed. The judge directed the defendants to file a formal bail application to allow the prosecution respond in writing. He subsequently ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
The case was adjourned until Wednesday for further proceedings.
The arraignment comes against the backdrop of heightened national concern over the management of public funds by institutions responsible for conducting elections at the state level. State Independent Electoral Commissions, established under Nigeria’s Constitution to organise local government elections, have frequently faced criticism from civil society groups and political stakeholders over transparency, financial accountability and operational independence.