A key figure in the ongoing multi-billion naira Dala Inland Dry Port ownership dispute involving former Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has been arrested while attempting to travel out of Kano.
Ahmad Rabiu, a former Managing Director of the dry port and ex-Commissioner for Commerce in Kano State, was arrested on Wednesday at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport by operatives of the Kano State Police Command.
Rabiu, who is also a principal witness in the criminal case instituted by the Kano State Government, was intercepted by plainclothes officers while boarding an Air Peace flight to Abuja.
Confirming the arrest, his aide, Hanif Umar, said at time of his arrest, he was in the company of Aminu Dabo, a prominent Kano politician and former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
“They stopped him at the airport and cancelled his flight on the instruction of the officers who carried out the arrest,” Umar said.
Kano Times recalls that Rabiu had earlier raised concerns over his safety after agreeing to testify in court against Ganduje and other defendants in the case bordering on the ownership and control of the Dala Inland Dry Port Limited.
The former governor and others are facing a 10-count charge including criminal conspiracy, misappropriation of public funds, breach of trust and conflict of interest before a Kano State High Court.
Those charged alongside Ganduje include his aide, Abubakar Bawuro; his lawyer, Adamu Aliyu-Sanda; and a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello.
On January 14, Ganduje challenged the service of court processes on him, urging the court to set aside the order for substituted service, which he described as “invalid, a nullity and ultra vires.”
His counsel, A.S. Gadanya, SAN, alongside other defence lawyers, also opposed the prosecution’s request for an arrest warrant against the former governor over his failure to appear personally in court.
The presiding judge, Yusuf Ubale, adjourned the matter to February 23 for the hearing of preliminary objections.
Reacting to Rabiu’s arrest, the state prosecutor, Muhuyi Magaji, alleged that the move was an attempt to interfere with the prosecution of the case.
According to him, the government has lined up witnesses, including officials who were allegedly pressured into signing documents that enabled what he described as fraudulent transfers of public assets to a private company.
“The defendants conspired to transfer 80 per cent ownership of the Dala Inland Dry Port, including the state government’s 20 per cent equity, to a private entity operating under the fictitious name ‘City Green Enterprise’,” Magaji alleged.
The prosecution further accused the defendants of diverting over ₦4.49 billion belonging to Kano State for infrastructure projects at the port, including road construction, electricity supply and fencing, allegedly for personal and family benefit.
They are also accused of abusing their offices by redirecting public funds for private gain, in violation of financial and constitutional provisions.
Investigations previously revealed that Kano State’s 20 per cent stake in the dry port was quietly transferred to private hands, with Ganduje’s children becoming directors and shareholders of the company.
Company records showed that at an Annual General Meeting held on March 5, 2020, three of Ganduje’s children — Abdulaziz Abdullahi Umar, Umar Abdullahi Umar and Muhammad Abdullahi Umar — were appointed directors and allotted five million shares each.
The same meeting removed the Kano State Government as a shareholder, creating a new ownership structure in which Ganduje’s children, Rabiu and Bawuro each held 20 per cent of the company.
The state government has insisted that due process was not followed in the divestment, accusing Ganduje of using his position as governor to undermine the state’s interest.
