Activists Protest Alleged N52.6 Billion Fraud in Katsina

…as DSS grills Mahdi Shehu, whistle blower

..Says I can’t stop exposing serial fraud in Katsina

…DSS keeps mum

As Mahdi Shehu, multi millionaire business man was invited by the DSS in Kaduna on Monday, anti-corruption activists from across the Northwest who converged on Kaduna, have called on the Federal Government to investigate alleged financial impropriety in government circles and bring corrupt officials to book.

The activists who displayed banners carrying various anti corruption inscriptions, besieged the gate of the DSS office in Kaduna, to display their solidarity to Mahdi Shehu who they described as the champion of the oppressed people in Katsina state.

Shortly after his release from the DSS office where he had been grilled for about an hour, Mahdi told journalists and the activists that their discussion was beneficial and devoid of any intimidation.

He said throughput the discussion with the DSS, they did not mentioned anything about Katsina state.

However, he said he brought up the issue of Katsina because during his investigations which could be verified, he came across places where alleged fraudulent officials had dropped the name of DSS among other security agencies, and collected huge sums of money.

According to him, it was advisable for the DSS to investigate further and clears its name from any complicity, for the sake of posterity.

Commenting on his dragging the name of Army boss Buratai, earlier in the matter, he explained that Buratai might’ve went back and listened to the tape.

“All I did was to call his attention, the SSG was stealing money in the name of police, he was stealing money in the name of DSS…..I was saying sometimes he used the name of the Chief of Army Staff to steal money..what I did was to call his ( Buratai ) attention,” he said.

He reiterated that nobody can intimidate him in this age, stressing that no one will stop him from exposing the “serial fraud” that was happening in Katsina state, allegedly by the Secretary to the Government of the State.

Earlier, rights group in Kaduna raised alarm that the anti-corruption crusader and Chairman of Dialogue Group Limited, Alhaji Mahdi Shehu, was being unnecessarily interrogated since he openly accused the Katsina State Government of complicity in its handling of the N52.6 billion.

The group alleged that he was summoned by a security agency for reasons yet unknown.

The DSS however, did not speak or issued any statement.

It could be recalled that Alhaji Mahdi Shehu, has alleged in a petition to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), that the Katsina State Government has squandered N52.6 billion in the last five years from the state’s security escrow account, among others.

He said the State Government ,allegedly wasted N52.6 billion under questionable deals captured as ‘security vote’ in five years ,putting the government at odds with the people who are in dire need of basic amenities even as insecurity bites harder with many lives lost on a daily basis.