Human rights activist and lawyer, Abba Hikima, has urged the Kano State Government to come clean on the alleged diversion of ₦6.5 billion, insisting that mere denials cannot clear the scandal.
Hikima, who spoke on the growing controversy, said Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s administration—elected on the promise of zero tolerance for corruption—must either present concrete evidence to exonerate itself or prosecute those found culpable.
According to him, dismissing the allegations as baseless or shifting blame to the immediate past administration of Abdullahi Ganduje is “not enough and unacceptable.”
He said, “We fought against Ganduje’s administration because of corruption allegations. If Abba’s government is now being accused of the same, after promising zero tolerance for corruption, it must defend itself with verifiable facts or take action against those involved.”
The lawyer listed weighty issues raised in the case, including claims that the suspect allegedly confessed in a written statement, while a court had already ordered the forfeiture of part of the funds.
He also noted reports that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) recovered over ₦1 billion from the suspect and deposited it into government accounts.
Other concerns, Hikima added, included allegations of public funds being moved into a private account before diversion, and suspicious foreign currency transactions with Abuja-based Bureau de Change operators, carried out beyond legal limits and without due process.
He maintained that these allegations must be addressed “point by point” rather than dismissed through blanket denial.
“Opposition parties will naturally raise issues, but it is the duty of government to respond transparently and safeguard its anti-corruption credentials. Any administration that campaigned on rejecting corruption carries the heavy burden of addressing such allegations convincingly,” Hikima declared.
