A Kano State High Court, presided over by Justice Sanusi Ma’aji, has ordered the remand of Zhang Qunfang, a Chinese national, in response to charges of alleged forgery and destruction of property owned by Huafei International Nigeria Ltd, located on Hadejia Road, Gezawa District, Kano.
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During the arraignment, prosecution counsel Eristio Asaph from the Force Headquarters’ Legal Department noted that the charges, dated October 2, were filed on October 3, 2024. He requested the court’s permission to read the charges to Qunfang.
Defense counsel Ibrahim Chedi opposed this, arguing that the defendant had only received the charge sheet that day, and therefore the case was not ready for arraignment.
He pointed out that the defendant had been arrested by INTERPOL in Abuja and subsequently granted administrative bail. Chedi also cited Section 127 Subsection 2 of the ACJL 2019, which requires that charges be served at least seven days prior to arraignment. He requested an adjournment to allow the defendant to continue on her initial bail.
The prosecution, however, argued that the defendant had previously refused to accept the charge sheet while on administrative bail.
Justice Ma’aji granted permission for the charges to be read to Qunfang. According to the charge sheet, Qunfang allegedly forged the signature of a company client, Mr. Zhu Bin, to have her name added as a signatory and withdrew $80,000 from the company’s account without director approval. She is also accused of demolishing a building owned by Huafei International Nigeria Ltd.
Qunfang pleaded not guilty to the charges. Following the plea, the prosecution requested an adjournment to respond to a bail application filed by the defense. Justice Ma’aji adjourned the case to November 1, 2024, for the bail hearing and ordered that Qunfang be remanded in a correctional center.
