The Kano State High Court has pushed forward the trial of former Kano State governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and seven others, marking yet another delay in a case that has stretched for months with repeated adjournments.
Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu adjourned the matter to February 3, 2026 after the prosecution team informed the court it was not ready to take on the pending applications.
Ganduje, his wife Hafsat Umar, and the other defendants are facing an 11-count charge filed by the Kano State Government. The charges centre on allegations of bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation and diversion of public funds allegedly running into billions of naira. Also listed as defendants are Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
During Wednesday’s session, Counsel to the State Government, Jedidiah Akpata, told the court that the prosecution needed more time to properly respond to several applications already filed by the defence.
Akpata said, “My Lord, we are not ready to proceed. We seek the leave of the court to move our application for extension of time.”
He explained that he had filed a motion seeking additional time to respond to a motion for stay of proceedings dated November 19 and filed the following day. He added that another motion dated November 24 and filed November 25 was also before the court, seeking more time to reply to a preliminary objection raised by the sixth defendant.
Despite the prosecution’s stance, lawyers representing Ganduje, his wife, his son and other co-defendants declared that they were fully prepared to continue with the day’s proceedings.
Lydia Oluwakemi-Oyewo, counsel to the former governor and his family, said, “My Lord, we are ready. We are not opposing the prosecution’s motion for extension of time.”
Chief M N Duru (SAN), appearing for the third and seventh defendants, also stated, “We are also ready to proceed, My Lord.”
Other defence counsel, including Abdul Adamu-Fagge (SAN) for the fifth defendant, Abubakar Ahmad for the sixth defendant, and Abdulrazaq Ahmed for the eighth defendant, all affirmed their readiness, even while noting that some applications were already pending before the Court of Appeal.
After hearing the submissions, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu granted the prosecution’s application for extension of time. She then adjourned the case to February 3, 2026 for the hearing of all outstanding motions.
The trial, which has drawn national attention due to its political and financial stakes, has experienced several setbacks largely tied to procedural applications and requests for more time. Each adjournment has pushed back progress on the substantive issues at the heart of the case.
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