A brother of the immediate past Secretary to the Government of Zamafara State, Professor Abdullahi Muhammad Shinkafi, who was allegedly found in possession of N60million by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is on a monthly salary of about N50, 000, Daily Trust on Sunday has discovered.
The EFCC announced the arrest of Murtala Muhammad on Tuesday, just a day before the second term of the government in which his brother was a key figure ended in the state.
The anti-graft agency said Muhammad was picked based on “intelligence on his suspicious money laundering activities’’.
Operatives of the agency arrested him at No.145 Igala Housing Estate, off Bypass Road in the state capital, Gusau.
Four bags of Ghana-Must-go containing N1000 notes of N15million each, totalling N60million, loaded in a black Toyota Land Cruiser Prado Jeep, in addition to one single barrel gun, one locally made revolve pistol, 25 rounds of cartridges and 12 rounds of 12.9mm ammunition.
Checks by Daily Trust on Sunday show that the suspect is a staff of the Zamfara State Transport Authority (ZSTA), a transportation company owned by the state government with about 30 vehicles, running commercial services in parts of the country.
Muhammad, officials in the company disclosed, was until his arrest, its operations manager, with a take-home pay that is barely more than N50, 000 a month.
A source told Daily Trust on Sunday that the ZSTA has more than 30 vehicles shuttling from Gusau to Kaduna, Abuja, Kano, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe and Sokoto states.
“I think he started working in 2003 and his take-home pay is a little above N50, 000. Staff of the agency are not paid by the state government, the agency generates funds for itself,” the source who works at the state Ministry of Works said.
A check by Daily Trust on Sunday reveals that in the Zamfara State, only civil servants on Grade Level 13 earn up to N50, 000.
Another source said that apart from being a staff of the ZSTA, Muhammad was also appointed as a senior special assistant to former Governor Abdulaziz Yari but was not given a portfolio.
“His brother, the former SSG, used to assign him to do certain things for him. He is actively involved in politics and has been participating in issues of governance and politics in the state,” he added.
Muhammad and his elder brother, the SSG, hail from Shinkafi Local Government Area of the state. Professor Shinkafi was a commissioner for religious affairs before he was appointed SSG in 2015 by former Governor Abdulaziz Yari.
The managing director of the transportation company, Alhaji Ibrahim Sani Limanci, confirmed to our correspondent that Muhammad is their operations manager. He, however, said his case with the EFCC had nothing to do with the state transportation authority.
