A Kano High Court on Wednesday adjourned the trial of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife, Hafsat Umar, and six others to February 3, 2026, for the hearing of all pending applications.
The adjournment affects the ongoing case involving an 11-count charge filed by the Kano State Government, accusing Ganduje, his wife, and other defendants of bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds amounting to several billions of naira.
Also standing trial are Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
During Wednesday’s sitting, counsel for the state government, Jedidiah Akpata, told the court that the prosecution was not prepared to proceed.
“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.
Akpata filed two motions seeking additional time: one to respond to the defendants’ application for a stay of proceedings dated November 19, 2025, and another to respond to the sixth defendant’s preliminary objection dated November 24, 2025.
Counsel to Ganduje, his wife, and son, Lydia Oluwakemi-Oyewo, said the defence team was ready but did not oppose the prosecution’s request.
“My Lord, we are ready. We are not opposing the prosecution’s motion for extension of time,” she said.
Other defence lawyers including Chief M.N. Duru (SAN) for the 3rd and 7th defendants, Abdul Adamu-Fagge (SAN) for the 5th defendant, Abubakar Ahmad for the 6th defendant, and Abdulrazaq A. Ahmed for the 8th defendant also confirmed their readiness to continue.
Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu granted the prosecution’s request and adjourned the matter to February 3, 2026, for the hearing of all pending motions.
