The Kano State High Court has set November 20 as the date to hear all pending applications in the high-profile case involving the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife, Hafsat Umar, and several associates.
According to The PUNCH, the group faces an eight-count charge of bribery, misappropriation of public funds, and diversion of resources amounting to billions of naira.
The case, filed by the Kano State Government, accuses Ganduje and his co-defendants—Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited—of corruptly managing public funds.
During the court session on Wednesday, which was scheduled to address a preliminary objection from the sixth defendant, counsel for the plaintiff, Mr. Adeola Adedipe expressed readiness to proceed.
“My lord, we have filed our counter-affidavit, and one of our witnesses is here from Lagos,” Adedipe stated.
However, the hearing was delayed when counsel for the 1st, 2nd, and 4th defendants, Mr. Offiong Offiong, informed the court that they had not yet received the preliminary objection and counter-affidavit.
“My lord, we are not ready. We filed an application and are asking for another date to move the application,” Offiong said.
Counsel for the 3rd and 7th defendants, Mr. Taye Falola, also requested an adjournment, noting that they had not received the necessary court documents.
Mr. Nureini Jimoh, representing the 6th defendant, confirmed that his team had filed a notice of preliminary objection on July 9 and was prepared to proceed with the application.
Meanwhile, lawyers for the 5th and 8th defendants, Abdul Adamu and Mr. Faruk Asekome, also requested an adjournment due to incomplete document service.
After hearing the submissions, Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu ruled that the service of court processes must be properly completed and adjourned the case to November 20 for the hearing of all pending applications.
The case continues to draw significant public attention, especially given Ganduje’s prominent role in Nigerian politics and his tenure as former Governor of Kano State.
