The Katsina State Government has denied allegation of corrupt practices levelled against it by a Kaduna-based business mogul, Mahadi Shehu, describing it as baseless, false and capable of tarnishing the image of the state government.
The Secretary to the Government of the State, Dr. Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa, who made the denial on behalf of the state government while giving testimonies at a Federal High Court, Kano, as the first witness, during the court proceedings, described the entire allegations levelled against the state government and some of its officials by the petitioner as false and baseless
He further said that there was nothing like the amount of money claimed by Mahadi Shehu, to have been squandered by the state government.
The Nation recalled that Mahadi Shehu had reportedly in a series of videos, audios on social media platforms and other conventional media platforms made series of allegations against the Katsina State Government and some of its top ranking personalities of financial mismanagement and fraud to the tune of N52b.
Meanwhile the Kano State Division of the Federal High Court presided over by Justice Abdullahi Liman on Monday adjourned the trial between the office of the Inspector General of Police and the Katsina whistleblower, Mahadi Shehu until February 28 and March 1st this year for continuation of the hearing.
The adjournment was requested by the prosecution counsel to enable it tender some important documents in order to justify the evidence and submissions provided by one of the witnesses who is also the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa.
The lead Defense Counsel, Mustapha Abubakar (SAN) in an interview with a cross section of reporters, explained that the trial which was scheduled to have commenced on Monday could not continue because of the adjournment.
He revealed that the prosecution counsel had hitherto called its first witness who had started giving evidences against the defendant.
The Katsina State Attorney General and Commissioner For Justice, Barrister Ahmad Usman El-marzuq, also expressed satisfaction with all the evidences given before the court by the first witness, adding that the prosecution counsel is ready to produce another set of five additional witnesses.