By The9JaTREND
Court of Appeal in the Kano division has struck out an appeal challenging the jurisdiction of a Kano High Court in a suit alleging misappropriation of over N4billion filed by the state government against former governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife, Hafsat and 6 others.
Recall that the Kano State High Court, on May 13 2025, dismissed an application filed by the former governor, Ganduje and seven others challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear their case of alleged bribery and misappropriation of funds.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had reported that the Kano State government instituted an 11-count charge bordering on bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation and diversion of public funds running into billions of Naira against Ganduje and his wife, Hafsat Umar.
Others charged with Ganduje are; Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu, in her ruling, struck out the defendants’ preliminary objections, describing it as incompetent and citing relevant authorities.
Adamu-Aliyu held that the charges filed against the defendants are competent to be tried.
The defendants, not satisfied with the ruling, had dragged the matter to the appellate court to challenge the jurisdiction of the high court.
At the court of appeal sitting on Monday, Justice Boloukuromo Moses Ugo, who presided over the 3-member panel, struck out the appeal over a lack of record of the appeal.
“The Record of Appeal which the Appellant claimed to have transmitted to the court was not transmitted, but rather merely compiled, and in view of no competent record of appeal, the appeal is hereby struck out pursuant to Order 8 Rule 18(2) of the CARS,” Justice Ugo ruled.