Headlines
EXPOSED: Bashir Magashi confessed to looting $550,000.00

Maude Rabiu Gwadabe
Newly inaugurated Minister of Defence from Kano state, Bashir Salihi Magashi had confessed to looting $550,000.00 (about N200 million), according to a report by PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr Magashi who is a retired Major General in the Nigerian Army was found to have stashed the loot in the Jersey, UK branch of Bank PNP Paribus.
An investigation by PREMIUM TIMES show that the Obasanjo administration discovered the loot in 2001 after it had compulsorily retired soldiers who held political offices.
Mr Magashi was confronted by another Kano man, Abdullahi Sarki Mukhtar, retired Major General and Obasanjo’s National Security Adviser (NSA).

Memo to Minister of Defence on challenges of insecurity
How Kano has become Kidnappers Den
What Double Ministers should do for Kano
Magashi assumes office as Defence Minister
In a 2006 memo to Mr Obasanjo, the NSA stated that Mr Magashi admitted that the money was a proceed of illegal crude oil allocation late President Abacha made to members of the Provisional Ruling Council under his government.
Mr Obasanjo directed that the entire sum be recovered from Mr Magashi.
However according to the NSA, Mr Magashi was only reprimanded and never prosecuted.
“General Magashi pleaded for a concession and Mr President left for him $150,000 from the said sum and to remit $400,000 to FGN which he has complied with.” Mr Mukhtar said.
Neither Magashi nor Mr Mukhtar had responded to the revelations by the PREMIUM TIMES.
It is not yet clear if President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of this deal when he appointed Mr Magashi as Minister of Defence.

Headlines
Power Shift in Kano: Ganduje Family Bows to Emir Sanusi as Nephew Gets Turbaned

In a dramatic political twist that may redefine Kano’s traditional power matrix, former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has thrown his weight behind Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, as the monarch turbaned Ganduje’s nephew, Alhaji Jamilu Sani Umar, as the new Village Head of Ganduje.
This development signals a major shift in political allegiance, coming from a family that once stood at the heart of Emir Sanusi’s 2020 dethronement.
The former village head, Alhaji Sani Ganduje — who was removed from office — had openly challenged the Kano Emirate over the legitimacy of his removal, deepening the rift between the Gandujes and Sanusi’s loyalists.
However, following the recent reinstatement of Emir Sanusi II by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, political equations in Kano have shifted rapidly.
In what many see as a move to realign with the prevailing tide, Dr. Ganduje reportedly convened a strategic meeting with his extended family and directed full support for the new appointment.

Rather than sending a delegate, the entire Ganduje family physically accompanied Jamilu to the Emir’s palace, a powerful public gesture of submission and allegiance to Sanusi’s throne.
Political analysts interpret this as Ganduje’s calculated pivot — recognizing Emir Sanusi’s regained influence and perhaps seeking to reposition himself within Kano’s changing political terrain.
The move also draws a clear contrast with the dethroned Emir Aminu Ado Bayero, who enjoyed close ties with Ganduje during his administration but is now increasingly sidelined.
By endorsing the turbaning and realigning his family under Sanusi’s leadership, Ganduje appears to be reading the political handwriting on the wall — that Emir Sanusi’s return is not just ceremonial, but a restoration of deep-rooted traditional authority with growing political resonance.
As Kano continues to balance tradition and politics, the Ganduje family’s public allegiance to Emir Sanusi may be the clearest indication yet that the old guard is adapting to a new power order.

Headlines
Kano legislator, Masu dumps NNPP for APC

Kano legislator Masu dumps NNPP for APC

A member of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and a member of the Kano State House of Assembly representing Sumaila Constituency, Hon. Zubairu Hamza Masu, has defected from the NNPP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
KANO FOCUS reports that Masu addressed his resignation letter to the Speaker, Ismail Falgore, and it was read during Monday’s plenary session.
However, Masu cited internal crises bedevilling the NNPP, including factional disputes and ongoing litigations, as his reasons for leaving the party.
He specifically emphasised the multiple claims of leadership within the party at both state and national levels, naming Dr Suleiman Hashim Dungurawa and Senator Mas’ud El-Jibrin Doguwa as those claiming control at the state level, while Dr Ahmed Ajuji and Dr Agbo Major were also asserting authority at the national level.
Masu’s resignation takes effect from 12 May 2025, and he pledged his full allegiance to the APC leadership at all levels.

Headlines
Dangote donates N15billion to Kano varsity, offers Automatic jobs to best graduating students

Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Group President of the Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote, has announced the donation of a whooping N15billion to the Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil (ADUSTECH), Kano State.

KANO FOCUS reports that. Alhaji Dangote, who is also the Chairman of the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) was reappointed the Chancellor of the University.
In his speech at the 5th convocation ceremony, he said the University must be repositioned to lead the race of producing cutting edge research and highly skilled manpower that meets the requirements of market demands, industries and real problem solvers in the Nigerian society.
He said: “It is in this vein that I wish to use this opportunity to announce the launch of the 5-year Development plan which I envision for this institution.
“Over the next 5 years, we will commit the sum of N15 billion to the following projects: the design and construction of additional student hostels; the design and construction of a world class Engineering Lab; the design and construction of a world class multipurpose computer lab -open to all students of the institution which will also be equipped with 24-hour internet access to support academic research and the installation of a mini-solar plant to support access to power on campus.”
He added that: “We also undertake to design and construct a befitting Senate building that will house the administration of this institution. Finally, we will also reserve post-NYSC employment slots for the best performing graduates in Engineering and other related courses that form part of our areas of interest at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Plant and Dangote Cement Plants.”
Alhaji Dangote said the funding for such an institution places a significant burden on the government, which is why, through the Aliko Dangote Foundation, it was able to offset the University’s electricity bill to ease the strain on their finances.
“Additionally, to support the infrastructural drive of the University, we built two blocks of Male and Female Hostels with 500 bed spaces each.
“We also ensured the availability of electricity in a specialized University like ours for continuous teaching, learning and research, via the connection of the University to a 33KVA line, and provided a 2.5 MVA transformer and six (6) step-down transformers. This, I believe, has gone a long way in solving the energy needs of the University.”
Dangote therefore congratulated the vision of those who dreamt of the institution 25 years ago.
“An institution that began with a student population of 88, today has a population of more than 21,877 students and this combined convocation has a total of about 18,000 graduates. This is indeed a milestone,” he added.
In his address, Governor Abba Kabiru Yusuf of Kano State commended Alhaji Dangote for contributing financially and morally towards the development of the University, adding that, “all of us will continue to remember you as a visionary and African illustrious industrialist.”
The University’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Musa Tukur Yakasa said 18,000 students were being celebrated during the convocation ceremony, having graduated from the university in the last ten years to date.
Business mogul Chief Arthur Eze, founder of Max Air and billionaire Alhaji Dahiru Barau Mangal, Senior Advocate Ahmad Adeniyi Raji, and oil magnate and founder of Amasco Oil Al-Mustapha Ado bagged honorary doctorate degrees.
The VC said the University has recorded significant strides in its academic journey to greater heights, including program accreditation and a mathematical digital model designed by a university product, Mahmoud Mubarak, for measuring deforestation density.
