Court grants him conditional bail
EIGHT years after he vacated his seat as governor of Zamfara State to become a Senator, Mallam Ahmed Yerima was yesterday arraigned in a Zamfara High Court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on allegation of mismanaging the N1 billion loan meant for the repair of Gusau dam in 2006.
Yerima was a leading advocate of Sharia law whose administration courted controversy after prosecuting a cow thief, Buba Jangebe through a Sharia court, which ordered the amputation of one of the hands of the alleged thief.
The ICPC filed 19 charges against the ex-governor.
According to the ICPC in a statement in Abuja yesterday, the former governor is to be tried before Justice Bello Shinkafi along with three others – Alhaji Hashim A. Dikko, Development Management Limited and HAD Nigeria Limited.
According to the charges filed against him, Yerima allegedly diverted the sum of N425,491,736.75 from the N1 billion for other purposes, including assistance to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), furniture allowance, consultancy fee, Ramadan feeding, Hajj and purchase of cars.
The charges also revealed that the former governor used the sum of N574,508,263.25 for flood disaster related matters.
If convicted, the ex-governor is liable to five years imprisonment without an option of fine
The charges against Yerima are that he:
• On or about November, 2006 whilst being the Governor of Zamfara State at Gusau spent money allocated for one project on another to wit: out of N1 billion additional budgetary allocation by Zamfara State House of Assembly for the repair of collapsed Gusau Dam and settlement of the victims of the said dam, which was obtained through a bank loan, spent the sum of N20 million purportedly on assistance to INEC and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22 (5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000;
• on or about October 2006 spent N10 million purportedly on donation and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 22 (5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000;
• spent N43,008,000 purportedly on surveillance of guests and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22 (5)
• spent N21,450,000 purportedly on settlement of publication equipment and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22 (5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000;
• spent N64,332,734 purportedly on sponsorship of government officials to Hajj and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22 (5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000;
• spent the sum of N32,646,286 purportedly on settlement of accommodation and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22 (5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000;
• spent N15,800,000 purportedly on furniture allowance and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22 (5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000;
• spent N29,200,000 purportedly on purchase of 2,000 Nanfang motorcycles and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22 (5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000; and
• that Sani on or about October 2006 spent N23,859,692 purportedly on payment to automobile company and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22 (5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
Sani is also accused of spending N14 million purportedly on payment of auditing of account and N14,170,000 purportedly on Ramadan feeding.
He is also to explain the spending of N14,530,000 (purportedly on purchase of four Peugeot 406 vehicles and N36,000,000 purportedly on settlement of leave grant for teachers.
Sani is charged with spending N46,591,692.24 purportedly on school feeding.
He, states another charge, on or about February 2007 at Gusau made a statement vide a letter dated 6th February 2007 captioned “Offer For Sale Of Excess Grains” to the President Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in the course of the exercise of the duty of his office that Zamfara State Government had stock of about 100,000 metric tons of assorted grains in silos and stores out of which 50,000 metric tons could be sold to the Federal Government “which was to your knowledge false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22 (1) (a) and punishable under section 68 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
“That you Ahmed Rufai Sani on or about May 2007 at Gusau within the jurisdiction of this court used your position as the Governor of Zamfara State to confer corrupt advantage upon your associate to wit: awarding consultancy services to Development Management System Limited for the supply of 50,000 metric tons (200,000 bags) of grains by Zamfara State Government to the Federal Government with the agreement to pay 10 percent, that is N161 million of the total cost of N1,610,000,000 (one billion, six hundred and ten million naira) to Development Management Limited as consultancy fee but for which only 9,181.89 metric tons (91,818 bags) were supplied and for which you paid Development Management Limited N91,840,000 (ninety one million, eight hundred and forty thousand naira) whereas Development Management Limited was entitled to only N29,565,685.80, thus overpaid her N62,274,315 and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.”
Sani is also charged with awarding contract for the transportation of 50,000 metric tons of grains (200,000 bags) to HAD Nigeria Limited to be supplied by Zamfara State to the Federal Government at N1,610,000,000 with the agreement to pay N444,040,000 to HAD Nigeria Limited as contract sum but for which only 9,181.89 metric tons (91,181 bags) were transported and for which HAD Nigeria Limited was paid N98 million whereas she was entitled only to N81,042, 525, thus overpaid her the sum of N16,957,472. The offence is contrary to and punishable under section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
However, Yerima was granted conditional bail alongside other three co-suspects, Alhaji Hashim A. Dikko, Development Management Limited and HAD Nigeria Limited.
The court adjourned the case to February 29th and March 1st for hearing.
