Bribery Videos: Court Dismisses Case Against Ganduje

A bribery suit instituted against Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje has been dismissed by a Federal High Court in the state.

The suit, which was filed by a Kano-based lawyer, Bulama Bukarti was dismissed for lack of merit.

The lawyer asked the court to mandate the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate Ganduje for allegedly receiving kickback from a contractor.

However, Justice Egwuatu ruled that even though where the affidavit deposed to, is not countered, it is deemed admitted, the evidence therein must be cogent and verifiable.

The judge averred that the provisions of Freedom of Information Act 2011, required that information requested must be a public record and in the custody of the instruction of organization so requested from.

Justice Egwuatu dismissed the case on the grounds that the evidence before the court has not shown that the EFCC has the record of the forensic analysis of the bribery video allegations, noting that the report ought to be given to the Kano state House of Assembly ad-hoc committee set up to investigate the matter.

Recall that in October, 2018, scandalous videos were published showing Ganduje pocketing vast wads of American dollars in what was said to be bribe payments from public works contractors.

The governor could be seen collecting the dollars before rolling them into his white dress, in one of a series of questionable deals allegedly struck over a span of several months.

The video was first published by online Newspaper, Daily Nigerian.

The two minutes video was recorded in 2017 in what Daily Nigerian described as a sting operation aimed at beaming a spotlight on the governor’s alleged penchant for contract racketeering.

In one of the video published, the governor appeared to have received $230,000. All the cash was hastily stashed in his “babanriga,” a native attire common amongst men of northern Nigerian origin.

Daily Nigerian said the $230,000 was part of a series of cash advancement to the governor in a total bribery deal of $5 million.

The governor had also debunked the video as “cloned”.