Kano rejects tribunal order, retains suspended anti-graft agency boss
Four days after the Code of Conduct Tribunal in Abuja ordered the suspension of the Chairman of the Kano State Public Complaint and Anti-corruption Commission, Muhyi Magaji, the Kano State government has yet to replace him as ordered by the CCT.
The CCT made the suspension and replacement of Magaji, following his arraignment last Thursday by the Code of Conduct Bureau for alleged abuse of office.
The CCB accused Magaji of conflict of interest, false asset declaration and accepting bribes.
The CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar, in a ruling, directed the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, and the Secretary to the State Government to suspend Magaji and replace him with“the most appropriate officer to take over as acting Chairman of the Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission pending the hearing and determination of the case against the defendant/respondent before this tribunal.”
However, checks by The PUNCH on Monday indicated that Magaji was still in office.
A reliable source at the headquarters of the Kano anti-corruption agency told our correspondent on condition of anonymity that Magaji was still in office.
“Our chairman, Muhuyi Magaji, is still the chairman of the agency. As I am talking to you now, he is in his office,” the source said.
According to the source, the decision by the state government not to replace him might not be unconnected with the appeal Magaji lodged against the ruling of the CCT.
“As you are aware, the chairman has appealed against the ruling a day after the ruling of the CCT,” the source said.
When contacted, the Director General, Media and Publicity to the Kano State Governor, Sanusi Tofa, said the state government could not replace Magaji because it appealed the ruling of the CCT.
“The reason why the chairman was not replaced is because the state government appealed the ruling,” Tofa said.
The CCB had on November 16, 2023, arraigned Magaji before the CCT on 10 counts bordering on alleged conflict of interest and false declaration of assets, among others.
Magaji, however, pleaded not guilty to all the counts and was admitted to bail in the sum of N5m with two sureties.
But Magaji had, in a motion filed by his lawyer, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), challenged the competence of the CCB to prosecute him.
He contended that a Kano State High Court presided over by Justice Farouk Adamu had on August 28, 2023, restrained the CCB from interfering in the affairs or taking any step in connection with the functions, duties, and affairs of his client until the matter was dispensed with.
He restated that in the Kano matter, CCB was the second defendant and that the court directed parties to maintain status.
In the notice of appeal dated and filed on Friday, April 5, 2024, Magaji urged the appellate court to set aside the CCT’s ruling.
He argued that the CCT erred in law when it denied him the right to a fair trial, fair hearing, and right to be presumed innocent, by making an order directing him to step aside as the Chairman of PCACC.
