A Kano State High Court has fixed February 13, 2025, for the hearing of all pending preliminary objections in the ongoing case of alleged bribery and misappropriation of funds against the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, and seven others.
It will be recalled that the Kano State government filed an eight-count charge alleging bribery, misappropriation, and division of public funds running into billions of naira against Ganduje, alongside his wife, Hafsat Umar, as well as Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
When the case came up for hearing on Wednesday, counsel to Ganduje, his wife, and Umar, M.N. Duru, SAN, holding brief for Offiong Offiong, SAN, requested the court to strike out their application seeking to withdraw their request for facilities and witness statements dated October 21.
He stated, “My lord, we urge the court to strike out this application. We intend to proceed with a new application dated November 18 instead.
“This motion, having not been moved, cannot be dismissed. We agree that it is not ripe for hearing, and we are requesting another date to make some corrections to the affidavit’s date.”
Counsel to the applicant, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, contended that the 1st, 2nd, and 4th defendants served them with a new application on December 10, which is not yet ripe for hearing. Adedipe requested the court not to strike out Ganduje’s application for withdrawal but to dismiss it instead.
“We have filed our counter-affidavit dated November 15, 2024. We also filed two additional counter-affidavits and responses dated October 18 and October 21,” Adedipe explained.
Counsel to the 3rd and 7th defendants, Mr. M.N. Duru, SAN, informed the court that he had filed a further and better affidavit and a motion on notice dated and filed October 18, 2024.
Counsel to the 5th defendant, Mr. Sunusi Musa, SAN, sought an adjournment to enable him to make some corrections in their processes.
Counsel to the 6th respondent, Mr. Abubakar Ahmed, revealed that he had filed a notice of preliminary objection dated September 9, supported by a nine-paragraph affidavit.
“We filed a written address dated September 9, a counter affidavit dated October 24, and a further and better affidavit dated November 15, 2024,” Ahmed said.
Counsel to the 8th defendant, Faruk Asekome, mentioned that they had filed their preliminary objection dated November 10, 2024.
Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu overruled the applicant’s objection and struck out Ganduje’s application. She adjourned the matter until February 13, 2025, for the hearing of all preliminary objections.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
