The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have uncovered N6.5 billion allegedly linked to the Director General of Protocol, Government House Kano, Abdullahi Ibrahim-Rogo.
According to documents obtained by source, the anti-graft agencies accused Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf’s aide of syphoning state funds through proxies.
The massive looting of public funds reportedly occurred between November 2023 and February 2025.
The documents revealed that Mr Rogo used H&M Nigeria Limited, A.Y. Maikifi Petroleum, and Ammas Oil and Gas Limited to divert funds from the Directorate of Protocol to his cronies.
The anti-graft investigation said the funds were paid for fictitious contracts that were neither awarded nor executed.
According to source A.Y. Maikifi Petroleum Limited and Ammas Oil and Gas Limited received N1.17 billion from Kano State Federation Allocation Accounts.
“In separate instances, the two companies were made to sign letters of authority by the then Kano State Accountant General, Abdulsalam Abdulkadir, authorising Kano State Ministry of Water Resources to transfer the sums of N539,230,000.00 and N570,000,024.50, respectively, to the account of two bureau de change companies, Kazo Nazo Global Resources and Namu Naku Ne, respectively, as payments for fictitious contracts.
“The funds were then converted to US dollars and handed over to Abdullahi Ibrahim Rogo, the Director General of Protocol, Government House, Kano, in cash by Nasiru Girma [the Managing Director of Kazo Nazo] and one Ghali Muhammad [Nasiru Girma’s business associate], who introduced Mr Abdullahi Rogo.
“The ICPC has since recovered the sum of N1,109,230,000 from both companies to the ICPC recovery account,” an insider source was quoted as saying.
Further investigation revealed that Mr Rogo operates an account [0505572562] with Alternative Bank under the name AH Bello Business Solutions Limited, which recorded inflows of N3.06 billion and outflows of N2.59 billion between August 2024 and February 2025.
However, Justice M.N. Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Kano, has ordered the permanent forfeiture of the N142.2 million balance to the ICPC.
In the financial heist under Governor Yusuf, who has pledged zero tolerance to corrupt practices in his administration, “it was discovered that Mr Rogo’s personal Zenith Bank account [1003666925] recorded N2.28 billion inflows and N2.26 billion outflows between January 2022 and January 2025, leaving a balance of N39.3 million.”
“Another Zenith corporate account [1013277962], operated under the name A.A. Rogo Nigeria Limited, received N54.1 million.”
It was further gathered that both accounts have been frozen by the anti-graft agencies.
Court documents obtained by this newspaper showed that Mr Rogo and other indicted individuals made confessional statements to the anti-graft agencies.
He, however, made a U-turn and filed a suit at the Kano State High Court, Bichi Division in a bid to prevent his arrest and prosecution.
In their counter-affidavits deposited before the commissioner of oaths, both ICPC and EFCC said there was a strong evidence that the suspects perpetrated heists.
Praying the court to dismiss the fundamental rights suit filed by Mr Rogo, a litigation officer at the ICPC, David Nelson Efut, said, “That I also know as a matter of fact this action was brought mala fide with the aim of restraining the 1st Respondent by this Court from discharging its statutory mandates as captured under section 6[a]of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, and from uncovering the truth of the matter.
“That it is in the interest of justice that the instant application be dismissed for lacking in merit and same being frivolous, vexatious, speculative and an abuse of court process.”
