Serious Drama as Commissioner is sacked for Selling Governor's N100m Plot of Land

Sacked commissioner for Lands and Physical Planning, Farouk Bibi Farouk

The Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje has sacked his commissioner for Lands and Physical Planning, Farouk Bibi Farouk, for selling his plot of land and involving in other land racketeering.

In a statement released by the commissioner for Information, Mohammed Garba, he will be replaced by the state commissioner for Works, Haruna Lambu who will now take over the Land ministry.

It was gathered that some time early this year the commissioner had declared a vast plot of land in Sharada (behind Kano School of Management Studies) unclaimed. But, unknown to him, the land belonged to Governor Ganduje, which was allocated him during the regime of military Governor Idris Garba.

However, Farouk allegedly sold it to a Lebanese at the cost of over N100million. It was further revealed that the commissioner was in involved in some kind of scam in which he allegedly sold plot of land belonging to retired Lt. General Jerry Useni and another plot belonging to business mogul, Aminu Dantata, on Western Bypass, Kano.

Alhaji Faruk Bibi Faruk, Permanent Secretary and Director in the ministry, Alhaji Mahmud Bello Bari and Ahmad Ibrahim were arraigned before a State High Court over alleged N5.9m land scam.

Faruk stands as 1st accused person in the suit, while Bari and Ibrahim were the 2nd and 3rd accused persons respectively.

The accused persons were arraigned on a  three count charge bordering on conspiracy and criminal breach of trust punishable under sections 97 and 315 of the Penal Code.

The Prosecution Counsel, Barrister Rabi Ibrahim Waya told the court that the three accused persons had sometimes in April 2016 conspired among themselves to commit an offense of criminal breach of trust, thereby committed an offense contrary to section 97 of the penal code.

Waya informed the court that also in April this year, the three accused persons conspired and sold out a plot of land to one Baba Sharu Dala in the sum of N5m and issued him with a letter of grant in respect of the said property and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 315 of the penal code.

The suspects who were earlier investigated by the State anti corruption agency before their arraignment before Justice Nasiru Saminu of Court 22 on three count charges.