The corruption trial of former Kano State Governor Umar Ganduje and seven others has been adjourned until February 13, 2025. The decision was made by the Kano State High Court.
Ganduje, who currently serves as the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is facing multiple charges in connection with an alleged bribery and misappropriation scandal. The charges include accusations of diverting billions of naira in public funds. Alongside Ganduje, other defendants in the case include his wife, Hafsat Umar, and several individuals and companies: Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
During the court session on Wednesday, legal teams for the defense presented a series of motions and applications. As a result, the court decided to consolidate the motions and adjourn the case for a unified hearing.
M.N. Duru, SAN, representing Ganduje and two other defendants, requested that the court dismiss an application filed on October 21, stating, “We ask the court to strike out the application and submit our new application dated November 18.”
In response, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, counsel for the opposing party, argued that the application for Ganduje’s withdrawal should be dismissed rather than struck out. “We have filed our counter affidavit dated November 15, 2024, along with two additional affidavits from October 18 and 21. We ask that the court dismiss the withdrawal application as it has not yet been moved,” Adedipe asserted.
After considering the arguments, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu ruled to strike out Ganduje’s application and overruled the objections raised by the applicants. She then scheduled a hearing for all preliminary objections on February 13, 2025.
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