Garba Musa Kwankwaso, the nephew of New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) presidential candidate Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, and the Chairman of the Kano State chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) have been arrested by the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission on suspicion of participating in a drug supply fraud affecting 44 local government areas.
In connection with the purported multibillion Naira drug supply scheme, the agency had already selected Alhaji Mohammed Kabawa, the Permanent Secretary of the State’s Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and had since arrested other parties implicated.
Abdullahi Bashir, the chairman of Tauroni LGA and the state branch of ALGON, has also been arrested by the commission.
The suspects were charged with conspiratorial procurement law violations after they awarded Novomed Pharmaceuticals the contract to sell medications to 38 local government units in the state.
According to the Commission, preliminary investigations showed that despite paying Novomed N9.1 million apiece for the purchase of medications, none of the 38 local governments received the drugs.
The results also showed that Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso’s nephew, Musa Garba Kwankwaso, the managing director of Novomed, had been arrested.
It is said that every suspect is working with the commission’s investigative team.
The arrests were verified by the commission’s public relations officer, Kabiru I. Kabiru, who also stated that an investigation was still underway.
According to Kabiru, the commission is seeking to expose the entire scope of the fraud and prosecute individuals involved.
Furthermore, he attested to the fact that the suspects were in the commission’s custody at the time this report was filed.
