A Kano State High Court has postponed until April 15 the continuation of the corruption trial involving former governor Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife Hafsat Umar, and their son Abdullahi Umar, alongside five other defendants, over the alleged diversion of billions of naira in public funds.
The defendants are standing trial on an 11-count charge bordering on conspiracy, bribery, misappropriation, and unlawful diversion of state resources.
The other accused persons are Abubakar Bawuro, Jibrilla Muhammad, as well as three companies, Lamash Properties Ltd, Safari Textiles Ltd, and Lasage General Enterprises Ltd.
At the resumed proceedings, the prosecution informed the court of its readiness to move on with the case and drew attention to a motion dated November 24, 2025, seeking permission to file additional proof of evidence.
However, the defence objected, insisting that several applications were still pending and must be determined before the trial could proceed. Counsel Lydia Oluwakemi-Oyewo, representing some of the defendants, told the court that a motion for stay of proceedings filed on July 17, 2025, was yet to be heard.
Similarly, Adekunle Taiye-Falola, counsel to the third and seventh defendants, referred to another application dated May 23, 2025.
Muhammad Shehu, appearing for the fifth defendant, also notified the court of an affidavit indicating that a separate application for stay of proceedings was pending before the Court of Appeal.
Counsel to the sixth defendant, Abubakar Ahmad, informed the court that he had filed a notice of preliminary objection along with an application for extension of time to respond on points of law on 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 trial.
After listening to submissions from both parties, the presiding judge, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu, adjourned the matter to April 15 to hear all outstanding applications and preliminary objections.
The case has been repeatedly stalled by legal hurdles. The trial court had earlier dismissed preliminary objections from the defence, describing them as incompetent and affirming its jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Although the defendants appealed that ruling, the Kano Division of the Court of Appeal, in October 2025, struck out the appeal on the grounds that the record of appeal was not properly transmitted.
