A Kano State High Court has dismissed an application filed by the former governor of Kano State and National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, alongside seven others, which challenged the court’s jurisdiction to hear the bribery and misappropriation case brought against them.
The Kano State Government had filed an 11-count charge against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat Umar, and others, accusing them of bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds amounting to billions of naira.
Other defendants include Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
Presiding Judge, Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu, ruled on Tuesday that the preliminary objections raised by the defendants were “incompetent,” and she dismissed them while citing relevant legal authorities.
The judge affirmed the validity of the charges filed on May 13, 2024, stating that they are “competent to be tried.”
She further clarified that investigative powers are not exclusive to the police.
“The power to investigate does not only lie with the police,” she said, adding that the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission also has authority to investigate criminal matters.
In addressing one of the applications aimed at stalling the trial, the judge stated:
“The case should proceed to trial even in the absence of Ganduje and six others.”
Justice Aliyu also summoned the sixth defendant, Lamash Properties Limited, and adjourned the matter to July 30 and 31, 2025, for hearing.
Earlier, counsel to the state, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, responded to the defendants’ preliminary objections in a filing dated October 22, 2024, urging the court to dismiss them for “lacking merit.”
Representing Ganduje, his wife, and son, counsel Lydia Oluwakemi Oyewo submitted a preliminary objection dated November 18, 2024, challenging the court’s jurisdiction and seeking to have the charges quashed.
Chief M. N. Duru, SAN, counsel to the 3rd and 7th defendants, also filed a preliminary objection dated October 18, 2024, supported by a 14-paragraph affidavit and a written address, urging the court:
“We urge the court to grant the application as prayed.”
Similarly, Mr. Muhammad Shehu, counsel to the 5th defendant, filed a motion on notice dated October 18, 2024, requesting that the application be granted along with “substantial costs against the complainant.”
For the 6th respondent, Mr. Abubakar Ahmad submitted a notice of preliminary objection dated September 9, 2024, along with a nine-paragraph affidavit and a written address.
Likewise, Faruk Asekome, counsel to the 8th defendant, filed a notice of preliminary objection dated October 18, 2024, supported by a five-paragraph affidavit and written address, also asking the court to grant the application.
