The Northern Youth Council of Nigeria has suspended it’s president, Isah Abubakar, over a press conference in which the council leadership urged the arrest of Alhaji Liman Isah Kantigi by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for fraud.
Kantigi, who served as one time Chairman of Edati local government area, ALGON Chairman and Commissioner in Niger state, is currently a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial aspirant for the state.
Isah Abubakar had told the media on Monday that Alhaji Kantigi was charged alongside three other defendants in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/100/2018 at the Abuja Federal High Court on June 25, 2018 for money laundering to the tune of N158 million and was convicted alongside the other three defendants on June 21, 2021 by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, adding that an appeal lodged at the Appeal Court in Abuja was dismissed for lacking merit.
The council president said after being found guilty of offences relating to money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering by the Federal High Court in Abuja, Kantigi deserved to be in prison rather than running for public office, to serve as deterrent to other corrupt elements in country.
However, the Director General, Media and Publicity of NYCN, Mock Kure, in a press conference on Tuesday said the President took a unilateral and personal decision over Kantigi, adding that the NYCN President has been suspended from activities of the group till further notice.
“We have been reliably informed that our president, Comrade Isah Abubakar addressed a press conference urging the EFCC to arrest Hon. Isa Liman Kantigi, over what he described as indictment by both High and Appeal Courts. It is unfortunate that a person of Isah Abubakar’s standing would allow himself to be dragged into the murky water of Niger politics, and be misled to call for the arrest of a law abiding citizens who has contributed to the development of his state and Northern Nigeria.
“The national executive of Council met and resolved that its President, Dr Isah Abubakar be suspended forthwith from the activities of the Council pending the conclusion of investigative committee. The most senior executive has therefore been mandated to lead the Council, going forward. This organisation is a non-partisan organization and his recent actions of deliberate witch-hunt without verifying the veracity of the facts, portrays him to have betrayed the objectives of this august body.
“Our independent investigation into these matters revealed that EFCC approached the Federal High Court, in Abuja before Justice Dimgba J in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/357/2017 between the EFCC Chairman and Sadiq Air Travel and Katah Properties Limited on allegations of corruption by Alhaji Isa Liman Katingi whilst serving as an official in Niger state seeking to forfeit monies standing in credit of Sadiq Air travel and Katah Properties Limited allegedly siphoned by Alhaji Liman Isa Kantingi.
“Both the EFCC and the Niger state government attempted in futility to link Hon. Liman Isah Kantigi to the monies in the said account without any iota of prove. More so, there was no evidence of any missing funds from Niger state relating to the allegations involved. The Federal High Court dismissed the suit, while an appeal was equally dismissed by the Appeal Court in Abuja on March 18, 2022 in appeal number CA/A/453/2018, while N200,000 was awarded in favour of the three respondents.”
