Alleged multi-billion fraud: Ganduje has case to answer – Court dismisses bid to halt trial

Published on May 13, 2025 | By Muhammad Bukar

A Kano State High Court has cleared the way for the prosecution of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, after rejecting his bid to dismiss multi-billion naira fraud charges filed against him by the Kano State Government.

Ganduje, alongside seven others, had filed a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the case. However, in a ruling delivered on Tuesday, the presiding judge, Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu, dismissed the application as incompetent and lacking merit.

The Kano State Government had brought an 11-count charge against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat Umar, and others. The charges include bribery, criminal conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds totaling several billions of naira.

Other defendants in the case are Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.

In her ruling, Justice Aliyu affirmed the competence of the charges, which were filed on May 13, 2024, and held that the case is ripe for trial. She emphasized that the power to investigate criminal matters is not exclusive to the police, noting that the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission is also legally empowered to do so.

“The case shall proceed to trial even in the absence of Ganduje and six others,” she ruled.

The court also summoned the sixth defendant, Lamash Properties Limited, and adjourned the matter to July 30 and 31 for hearing.