Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje has ordered the state Anti-Corruption Commission to probe the claims by the Kano Zoological Gardens that a Gorilla in the state-owned zoo swallowed a whooping N6.8 million. Even as the management of the facility has denied the millions of naira missing from its coffers were swallowed by a gorilla, the commission has already swung into action,” a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Abba Anwar, said on Sunday in Kano.
The statement quoted the governor as directing the commission to look into the immediate and remote circumstances surrounding the allegation and “unearth everything surrounding the incident.” The animal was said to have swallowed N6.8 million generated by the Zoo as gate fees collected from visitors of the garden, particularly during the Eid-el-Fitr celebrations.
The managing director of the government-owned zoo Mallam Umar Yusif Umar said it has no gorilla and that money was stolen by burglars. “I was called midnight on Sunday 9th, June, by the head of security that armed robbers burgle our office including the revenue office,” Umar told reporters.
“About 6.30 am, I left my home for the office and immediately I arrived I met my office and that of all the directors opened. Instantly I called the DPO, Sharada police station and reported the case to him. As far as I’m concerned, I suspect theft and nothing close to Gorilla.”
Umar said the money stolen is N6.90 million instead of N6.82 million widely reported. Corroborating Umar, the Kano police spokesperson, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, said 10 staff of the zoo, including the accounting officer Lawan Dandadarin, have been arrested and detained. Haruna told reporters that statements collected from those arrested so far has nothing to do with Gorilla. “So far, information collected from the suspects suggests an armed robbery case and that of negligence,” Haruna said.
BBC Pidgin reported on Friday that Freedom Radio, a Kano-based radio station claimed that a finance officer it spoke to said “a huge Gorilla” sneaked into their office to “swallow” the money. But the head of current affairs Freedom Radio Nasiru Salisu said the Gorilla story did not emanate from the station. “Like every other person, we notice the information on social media and a reporter was drafted to investigate the matter.”
It is worth recalling that Nigerians were shocked and scandalized when Senator Shehu Sani stormed the office of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) with snake charmers, ostensibly to arrest and prosecute a “snake’’ that had allegedly swallowed N36 million in the JAMB office in Makurdi, Benue.
One Philomena Chieshe, a sales clerk in the JAMB office, said “she could not account for N36 million she made in previous years before the abolition of scratch cards. In the course of interrogation, Philomena denied the allegations that she stole the money but claimed her housemaid connived with another JAMB staff to spiritually (through a snake) steal the money from the vault in the account office.
Sani wondered how such a huge sum of money could have been swallowed by a snake. “I believe that the contribution I can make is to bring snake charmers from my constituency to the JAMB office and to help them fish out the snake and weed out snakes from their premises.” Sani further said if a snake could actually swallow N36 million, one day Nigerians may wake up to say that a snake had swallowed the country’s foreign reserve.
“Even if it is a spiritual matter, we believe that these people I brought, are some of the best snake charmers in the country and they will help in arresting both physical and spiritual snakes if there has been any in the JAMB office.” Sani presented snake repellents and chemicals to the board.
Responding, the Spokesperson for JAMB, Fabian Benjamin explained that on assumption of duty, the present registrar discovered that there were loopholes in the sale of scratch cards. “We discovered a lot of loopholes. The registrar thereafter introduced pin vending. After introducing the pin vending, it was natural for him to call for an audit of the former use of scratch cards. After taking stock, it was discovered that in some offices they could not account for what they sold.”
Benjamin further explained that in the spirit of transparency, inclusiveness and openness the agency felt that Nigerians should know what was happening. He also told Sani of another incident in Nasarawa State, where the staff member claimed the unsold cards he was bringing to Abuja got burnt when the car he was travelling in was involved in an accident.
JAMB has vowed to arrest and prosecute the “mysterious snake” which allegedly took N36 million from its vault in Benue state. While Nigerians are puzzled by the tale of a snake swallowing N36 million in Benue JAMB office, and a Gorilla swallowing N6.8 million in Kano, the public has not forgotten the alleged incident involving monkeys that took N70 million belonging to the Northern Senators Caucus.
The 8th caucus sacked Sen. Abdullahi Adamu as its chairman, following allegations of misappropriating N70m belonging to the group. The then Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu announced the leadership change with Sen. Aliyu Wamakko as the new chairman.
Briefing newsmen after plenary, Senator Sani who made the headlines for storming the headquarters of JAMB with snake charmers to catch the money swallowing snake, said that N70 million was handed over to the caucus from the 7th Senate saying the money which was in the custody of the sacked chairman could not be accounted for.
“Abdullahi Adamu is a distinguished senator and an elder statesman. There are some things that some of my colleagues cannot say but I am not used to holding back what is the truth. When we resumed as senators, when we assumed office, Senator Ahmed Lawan tendered the sum of 70 million naira to the 8th senate that is, that 70 million naira was monies gathered by northern senators from the 7th senate. So it was handed over to the 8th senators from northern Nigeria under the 8th senate.
“The rumors going round whether it is true but I believe most of the senators know is the fact there were allegations that some monkeys raided the farm house of some of the executives in northern senators forum and carted away some of these monies. I think this country is becoming a huge joke, first of all it was the rodent that drove away the president and we now have snakes consuming about N36 million, and you now you have monkeys,” he said.
