Kano electoral chief and two others face trial over alleged N1.02 billion cash diversion.
ICPC says funds meant for elections were routed through a firm with no known ties.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has announced plans to arraign the Chairman of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), Professor Sani Lawan Malumfashi, for alleged involvement in a N1.02 billion money laundering case.
Joining Malumfashi in the court proceedings scheduled for Monday, July 21, 2025, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, are the Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Anas Muhammed Mustapha, and Mr. Ado Garba, a Deputy Director in the Commission’s Accounts Department.
In a statement released on Friday, ICPC spokesperson Demola Bakare said the Commission’s investigation revealed that the accused individuals carried out an illegal cash transaction between November and December 2024. This action reportedly violated financial guidelines and anti-corruption laws.
According to the charge sheet, KANSIEC, under Malumfashi’s leadership, allegedly transferred a total of N1.02 billion from its Unity Bank account to a company named SLM Agro Global Farm, which had no known contractual relationship with the Commission.
The defendants claimed the money was meant to be converted into cash for paying ad hoc staff involved in the state’s local government elections. They also claimed that the funds were returned to the Commission in cash by SLM Agro Global.
However, the ICPC said this explanation did not match the evidence obtained. Bakare stated that a letter presented by the defendants showed they had requested Unity Bank to transfer N59.4 million using a cheque and an attached list of 510 electoral officers’ bank details. The payments were made through regular banking channels, contradicting the need for cash.
“The argument that bank transfers would be too slow was only a cover to disguise the offence,” Bakare noted. “The banking system worked perfectly, and all the officers listed received their payments without delay.”
In addition to the money laundering charge, the ICPC also questioned the handling of a N20 million budget reportedly set aside for verifying candidates across all 484 wards and 44 local government areas in Kano State.
According to the findings, the verification process did not take place across the wards as claimed. Instead, it was conducted entirely at the Commission’s headquarters in Kano, and candidates bore the cost of traveling there. Despite this, the third defendant allegedly told ICPC that the full N20 million was disbursed in cash to KANSIEC officials serving on the screening team.
ICPC pointed out discrepancies in the Commission’s financial documents, including a mislabeling of the election budget as “Operation Budget 2025 Elections,” though the events concerned took place in 2024.
The agency concluded that the explanations provided by the defendants failed to justify the large cash transactions, and evidence showed attempts to bypass standard financial procedures, raising serious concerns about mismanagement and possible diversion of public funds.
