THE Association of Local Government Chairmen (ALGON) in Kano State chapter has asked the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) to strip the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Musa Aliyu, of his Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) title.
In a petition, dated September 17, 2024, and filed by lawyer Shamsi Jibril on behalf of the Kano ALGON, and the state government, the chairmen accused Aliyu of defying a court order and using intimidation tactics under the guise of anti-corruption investigation.
In response, the ICPC Chairman has dismissed the accusations, insisting that the agency’s investigation is lawful and targeted caretaker committees, not elected council chairmen.
ALGON claimed that despite a Kano State High Court injunction barring the ICPC from harassing or arresting them, the anti-graft agency continued its probe, targeting local government officials with invitations and attempted arrests.
“An Order of Interim Injunction is hereby granted restraining the Respondents, either by themselves, their agents, privies or any other officer(s) serving under them from disturbing, harassing threat to arrest and or detain the applicants pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.
“That an order of Interim Injunction is hereby granted restraining the respondents from taking further steps in connection with the matter and maintaining status quo or staying all actions pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice,” the petitioners quoted the injunction to have read.
According to the petitioners, the ICPC, along with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigeria Police Force, has launched parallel investigations into the same allegations, which they argue violate their constitutional rights to personal liberty, dignity, and fair hearing.
In the petition, which was summarised in 13 paragraphs, the association also noted that the continued investigation amounts to abuse of legal process, double jeopardy, and forum shopping.
The petitioners specifically cited an incident on September 10, 2024, when ICPC officers allegedly attempted to arrest Zangina Galadima Zango, the caretaker chairman of Rimin Gado Local Government, despite the court order.
“Despite the above measures, Musa Adamu Aliyu defied the authority of this honourable court (and as well ignored the professional courtesy accorded to him by our humble selves) and directed his men to invade the house of the 35th applicant in the suit, the Chairman of Rimin Gado Local Government, Kano on September 13, 2024 at night, arrested him and illegally detained him at their head office in Abuja in connection with the subject matter of the pending case, and in clear violation of the order of the court.”
The LG chairmen are demanding that the ICPC Chairman be sanctioned, and that any further arrest or detention of their officials be declared unlawful.
“The ICPC under the leadership, legal advice and representation of Musa Adamu Aliyu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has shown utmost disdain for the courts and the independence of the judiciary, and Musa Adamu Aliyu has conducted himself in a manner unbecoming of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
“We urge you to investigate this matter with a view to ensuring that learned Silks admitted to the Inner Bar by your exalted Committee conform to the highest standard of behaviours and adherence to the rule of law.” the petitioners sought.
ICPC chairman dismisses allegations
Meanwhile, in response, the ICPC Chairman has dismissed the accusations, insisting that the agency’s investigation is lawful and targeted caretaker committees, not elected council chairmen.
Aliyu, in a letter dated February 17, 2024, to the LPPC, stated that the ICPC was acting in line with a Supreme Court ruling in June 2024 (AG Federation v. AG Abia State & Others), which declared that local governments must be headed by democratically elected officials.
He emphasised that the investigation was solely focused on caretaker committees unlawfully holding power, as the tenure of the elected LG chairmen had expired on February 12, 2024.
He further accused the caretaker chairmen of mismanaging local government funds and governing local councils in violation of the 1999 Constitution and Supreme Court decisions that have declared caretaker committees unconstitutional.
“The persons under ICPC’s investigation are the Caretaker Chairmen of the Local Government Areas in Kano State and the leadership of the Kano State House of Assembly for alleged corrupt practices and abuse of office. This is because the Kano State House of Assembly had screened a list of Caretaker Chairmen or Interim Management Committee members forwarded to it by the Governor of Kano State to manage the affairs of the Local Government Councils and extended their tenure.
“The individuals whose names were submitted to the Assembly by the Governor allowed themselves to be used to mismanage local government funds and govern the Councils contrary to the provision of the 1999 Constitution and in contravention of many decisions of Supreme Court declaring the appointment of any person or group of persons to run affairs of local government areas as Caretaker Committee Chairmen unconstitutional,” Aliyu wrote.
Aliyu clarified that the ICPC had only invited the caretaker chairmen to respond to allegations of corruption and abuse of office, but all of them, except Abdul Labran Madari, a lawmaker, ignored the invitations.
Background of the controversy
The ICPC’s probe began in early 2024, following the Supreme Court’s ruling that declared caretaker committees illegal and recognised only elected LG chairmen. The agency launched an investigation into allegations of mismanagement of public funds and abuse of office by caretaker committees in Kano’s 44 LGAs.
During its investigation, the ICPC claimed to have uncovered various corrupt practices involving large sums of public funds and invited the caretaker chairmen to address the findings. Consequently, it invited the caretaker chairmen to confront them with its findings. However, the chairmen reportedly ignored the invitations.
This lead to the arrest of Zangina Galadima Zango, the caretaker chairman of Rimin Gado Local Government.
Subsequently, the ICPC filed three charges against him before the Federal High Court.
But the arrest took place after the state government and the Association of Local Government Chairmen (ALGON), Kano chapter, dragged the Commission to court over what they described as the harassment of LG chairmen, on August 26, 2024.
In their lawsuit, the local government chairmen argued that anti-corruption agencies were conducting parallel investigations into the same allegations, which they claimed constituted an abuse of legal process and amounted to double jeopardy.
On August 27, 2024, the Kano State High Court issued an injunction barring the ICPC and other federal agencies from making further arrests pending the determination of the case.
However, at the time of the court order, Kano had no elected LG chairmen, as the state government had dissolved its caretaker committees on September 19, 2024, and only held local government elections on October 26, 2024—two months after the ICPC was sued.
The ICPC chairman maintained that since February 2024, Kano State had no legally recognised LG chairmen, meaning its investigations did not violate the court ruling.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M