A Kano State High Court has again delayed the long-running trial of former Kano governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and seven others, moving all pending motions to February 3, 2026.
Ganduje, his wife Hafsat Umar, and the other defendants are facing 11-count charge from the Kano State Government.
The charges include bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and the alleged diversion of public funds worth billions of naira.
The other defendants are Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
When the case was called, the state government’s lawyer, Jedidiah Akpata, told the judge they could not continue with the hearing.
“My Lord, we are not ready to proceed. We seek the leave of the court to move our application for extension of time,” he said.
He explained that the state had filed motions seeking more time to respond to applications filed by the defence, including a motion for stay of proceedings and a preliminary objection.
Despite this, lawyers representing several defendants insisted they were ready. Counsel to Ganduje, his wife, and son, Lydia Oluwakemi-Oyewo, said, “My Lord, we are ready. We are not opposing the prosecution’s motion for extension of time.” Chief M. N. Duru (SAN), representing the 3rd and 7th defendants, also said, “We are also ready to proceed, My Lord.”
Other defence lawyers, including Mr. Abdul Adamu-Fagge (SAN), Abubakar Ahmad, and Abdulrazaq Ahmed, confirmed they were prepared to move forward.
After listening to all sides, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu granted the prosecution more time and postponed the case. She ruled that the hearing of all pending motions would continue on February 3, 2026.