Justice Muhammad Nasir Yunusa of a Federal high court, Kano, has fixed May 2, 2023, for pre-trial of business mogul Abdulkarim Abdulsalam Zaura’s alleged financial misappropriation.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting the Kano central senatorial candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the just concluded elections, on a four-count charge bothering on advance fee fraud. EFCC re-opened the alleged criminal charges on criminal conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of $1.3 million slammed on the defendant sometime in 2014 against one Dr. Jamman Al-Azmi. The prosecutor said that the offence contravened the provision of section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act. When the defendant appeared for arraignment on Tuesday, the prosecution counsel, Mrs. Aisha Habib, informed the court of an adjustment of charges against him. However, the defendant pleaded not-guilty to all the offences levelled against him. Subsequently, the defence counsel, Isiyaka Dikko (SAN), urged the court to admit the defendant to bail and pleaded the court to apply same condition of bail extended to his client by Justice Lewis Allagoa on the same matter. In a counter argument, counsel to EFCC, objected to the bail application, asking the court to remand the defendant in custody. In his ruling, Justice Yunusa, overruled the prosecuting counsel and admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N100 million and one surety in like sum. The Judge stressed that bail is a constitutional right pursuant to section 36(5) of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, that a defendant shall be presumed innocent until he or she is found guilty. The court adjourned the matter to May 2, for commencement of pre-trial.