A Kano State High Court on Tuesday dismissed a motion filed by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear an 11-count corruption charge levelled against him and seven others.
Presiding over the case, Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu ruled that the preliminary objections raised by Ganduje, a former governor of Kano State, and his co-defendants were “incompetent” and without merit.
She upheld the court’s jurisdiction to proceed with the charges, which include bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds amounting to several billions of naira.
“The charges before this court are competent. The power to investigate criminal matters does not reside solely with the police. The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission is equally empowered under the law,” stated Justice Aliyu.
The judge stressed that the trial would go on regardless of the absence of Ganduje and six other defendants. She also issued a summons for the sixth defendant, Lamash Properties Limited, and adjourned proceedings to July 30 and July 31 for hearing.
Other defendants named in the case include Ganduje’s wife, Professor Hafsat Umar, as well as Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Safari Textiles Limited, Lasage General Enterprises Limited, and Lamash Properties Limited.
The state’s lead counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Adeola Adedipe, had urged the court to reject the objections, describing them as “deliberate attempts to frustrate the trial.”
“We argued that the objections have no legal basis and called on the court to allow justice to take its course,” Adedipe said.
Ganduje’s legal representative, Lydia Oluwakemi Oyewo, filed a preliminary objection dated 18 November 2024, seeking to quash the charges and stop the trial, claiming the court lacked jurisdiction.
Similarly, counsels for the third, fifth, sixth, and eighth defendants—Chief M. N. Duru, SAN; Mr Muhammad Shehu; Mr Abubakar Ahmad; and Mr Faruk Asekome—had filed objections between September and October 2024, each challenging the legitimacy of the charges and the court’s authority.
Justice Aliyu ruled, “None of the applications have merit. The case must proceed in accordance with due process.”