A Kano State High Court has adjourned until 15 April, the trial of former governor Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife, Hafsat Umar, and son, Abdullahi Umar, alongside five other defendants, over alleged misappropriation of public funds amounting to billions of naira.
The defendants are facing an 11-count charge bordering on bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds. The remaining accused persons are Abubakar Bawuro, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Ltd, Safari Textiles Ltd, and Lasage General Enterprises Ltd.
At the resumed hearing, the prosecution told the court it was ready to proceed and drew attention to a motion dated 24 November 2025, seeking leave to file additional proof of evidence.
Defence lawyers raised objections, informing the court that multiple applications were pending and must be resolved before the trial could continue.
The counsel to some of the defendants, Lydia Oluwakemi-Oyewo said the defence had filed a motion dated 17 July 2025, seeking a stay of proceedings.
Representing the third and seventh defendants, Adekunle Taiye-Falola also referred to a separate motion dated 23 May 2025.
In addition, counsel to the fifth defendant, Muhammad Shehu told the court that an affidavit had been filed notifying it of a pending application for stay of proceedings before the Court of Appeal.
Counsel to the sixth defendant, Abubakar Ahmad informed the court that he had filed a notice of preliminary objection and an application for extension of time to respond on points of law dated 2 February, 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 hearing arguments from both sides, the presiding judge, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu, adjourned the matter to 15 April for the hearing of all pending applications and preliminary objections.
The trial has suffered repeated delays due to legal challenges. The high court had earlier dismissed preliminary objections raised by the defence as “incompetent” and affirmed its jurisdiction to hear the case.
That ruling was appealed by the defendants, who argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction. However, in October 2025, the Kano Division of the Court of Appeal struck out the appeal, citing failure to properly transmit the record of appeal.
