Court Fixes April 15 for Hearing in Ganduje, Family’s Alleged Multi-Billion Naira Fraud Case

 

A Kano State High Court has adjourned the trial of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, and son Abdullahi Umar, alongside other defendants, to April 15, 2026, over alleged misappropriation and diversion of public funds running into billions of naira.

The former governor and seven others are standing trial on an 11-count charge bordering on conspiracy, bribery, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds.

Other defendants in the suit include Abubakar Bawuro, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Ltd, Safari Textiles Ltd, and Lasage General Enterprises Ltd.

At the resumed sitting, the prosecution informed the court of its readiness to proceed and drew attention to a motion dated November 24, 2025, seeking leave to submit additional proof of evidence against the defendants.

However, defence counsel told the court that several pending applications must first be resolved before the trial can continue.

Counsel to some of the defendants, Lydia Oluwakemi-Oyewo, said the defence filed a motion dated July 17, 2025, requesting a stay of proceedings. Another defence lawyer, Adekunle Taiye-Falola, representing the third and seventh defendants, also notified the court of a pending motion dated May 23, 2025.

Muhammad Shehu, counsel to the fifth defendant, disclosed that an affidavit had been filed to inform the court of an application for stay of proceedings currently before the Court of Appeal.

Counsel to the sixth defendant, Abubakar Ahmad, said he had filed a notice of preliminary objection and an application for extension of time to respond on points of law dated February 2, urging the court to fix a date for hearing.

Only Faruk Asekome, counsel to the eighth defendant, indicated readiness to proceed with the matter.

Following submissions by counsel, the presiding judge, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu, adjourned the case to April 15 to hear all pending applications and preliminary objections.

The case has experienced repeated delays due to legal challenges. The trial court had earlier affirmed its jurisdiction after dismissing preliminary objections raised by the defence as incompetent. Dissatisfied with the ruling, the defendants approached the Court of Appeal in Kano, challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

In October 2025, the appellate court struck out the appeal on grounds that the record of appeal was not properly transmitted.