A Kano State High Court has scheduled April 15, 2025, for the hearing of all outstanding preliminary objections in the ongoing bribery and misappropriation case involving the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife, Hafsat Umar, and six others.
The Kano State Government has filed an eight-count charge against the defendants, accusing them of bribery, misappropriation, and diverting public funds amounting to billions of naira.
Other defendants in the case include Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, prosecution counsel Adeola Adedipe, SAN, informed the court that the prosecution was ready to proceed with the pending applications.
“My Lord, we have filed a motion on notice, dated February 2 and served on February 5, seeking an extension of time to enable us to regularize our preliminary objection,” Adedipe stated.
Lydia Oluwakemi-Oyewo, counsel for Ganduje, his wife, and Umar, also confirmed their readiness to proceed with their defense.
However, some defense lawyers sought additional time to organize their legal documents.
Adekunle Taiye-Falola, counsel for the 3rd and 7th defendants, told the court, “My Lord, we filed our application for an extension of time, dated December 12, 2024, to reply to our further and better affidavit on points of law. We need to regularize our processes.”
Similarly, Sunusi Musa, SAN, representing the 5th defendant, moved a motion for an extension of time, dated and filed January 7, 2025.
Meanwhile, Abubakar Ahmed, counsel for the 6th respondent, said he had already filed a preliminary objection dated September 9 and was ready to proceed, while Ibrahim Aliyu-Nasarawa, representing the 8th defendant, requested additional time to prepare.
After reviewing the submissions from all counsels, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu granted the applications for an extension of time and adjourned the case to April 15, 2025, for the hearing of preliminary objections.
The case, which has attracted significant public interest, will continue with the resolution of preliminary objections before the commencement of the substantive trial.
