The Court of Appeal in Kano has dismissed an appeal filed by Lamash Properties Limited, which challenged the jurisdiction of the Kano State High Court to hear the corruption case involving former governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and seven others.
Delivering judgment on Monday, a three-member panel of justices led by Justice Boloukuromo Ugo struck out the appeal for lack of a valid record before the court.
> “The record of appeal which the appellant claimed to have transmitted to the court was not transmitted but merely compiled,” Justice Ugo ruled.
“In view of there being no competent record of appeal, the appeal is hereby struck out pursuant to Order 8 Rule 18(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules.”
The ruling effectively upholds the decision of the Kano State High Court, allowing the corruption case against Ganduje and others to proceed.
The Kano State Government had filed an 11-count charge bordering on bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds amounting to billions of naira against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, his son Umar Abdullahi Umar, and five others.
Other defendants in the case include Abubakar Bawuro, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
In May 2025, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu of the Kano State High Court dismissed a preliminary objection by the defendants challenging the court’s jurisdiction, describing it as “incompetent.” She ruled that the charges filed against the former governor and his co-defendants on May 13, 2024, were valid and properly before the court.
Unhappy with that decision, the defendants took the matter to the appellate court, arguing that the trial court lacked jurisdiction. However, the appellate court’s latest decision has now cleared the path for the substantive hearing of the corruption case to continue before the Kano State High Court.
The case against Ganduje centers on allegations of bribery and diversion of state funds during his tenure as governor.
