The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has ordered the arrest of the Chairman of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado, over the confiscation of properties allegedly linked to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Sources within the Anti-Corruption Commission confirmed to SolaceBase on Friday that operatives from the IGP Monitoring Unit, led by ASP Ahmed Bello, visited the commission, asserting that they were instructed to take Rimingado into custody.
The controversy revolves around the trial of Bala Muhammad Inuwa, former Managing Director of Kano Agricultural Supply Company Limited (KASCO), who is accused of diverting over N4 billion in public funds.
The trial, which began in November 2023 at the Kano High Court presided over by Justice Hafsat Yahaya, included an order to seize properties linked to the case, including funds in bank accounts, pending the determination of the suit.
Late last year, Inuwa filed a separate suit before Justice Aisha Ya’u at another Kano High Court, which resulted in an order directing the removal of police officers stationed at Limestone Processing Links Ltd., where the seized properties were stored. However, the Anti-Corruption Commission claimed it was unaware of the suit and was not joined as a party, despite being the entity responsible for the confiscation.
The commission subsequently filed a stay of execution, arguing that it should be joined in the suit, as the police were only providing security for the confiscated properties under its authority.
Speaking to journalists two weeks ago, Rimingado revealed that KAROTA personnel had been directed to transfer the seized items, valued at over N2 billion—including trailers, trucks, and minivans—from Kumbotso Local Government Area to a state government warehouse in Nasarawa GRA. This action, he stated, was in line with Section 40 of the state’s anti-corruption law, which allows the commission to manage confiscated properties while a case is ongoing.
According to sources, during a recent meeting at the Kano Police Headquarters, Bala Muhammad Inuwa allegedly claimed the confiscated items belonged to former governor Abdullahi Ganduje and insisted no one could take them from him.
On Friday evening, the IGP Monitoring Unit arrested Muhuyi Rimingado and detained him at Zone 1 Police Headquarters in Kano. Reports indicate that lawyers representing the Anti-Corruption Commission chairman were denied access to him.
The IGP is yet to make comments on the arrest as at press time.