Reported By Mary Udezue | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
Abuja — A Kano State High Court has refused a legal application by the Kano State Government seeking a bench warrant for the arrest of former governor and current All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in connection with ongoing criminal charges related to alleged corruption and misappropriation of public funds.
The state government had asked the court, sitting at the Audu Bako Secretariat Complex, to issue arrest orders under Section 388 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Kano after Ganduje and other co-defendants failed to appear in court for proceedings in the high-profile case. Prosecutors argued that compelling the defendants’ appearance was critical to advancing the trial.
However, the presiding judge, Yusuf Ubale, declined the request, ruling that it would be premature at this stage of the proceedings to issue a bench warrant. The court’s decision followed submissions from the defence counsel, who had filed preliminary objections challenging the validity of the service of court processes on Ganduje and his co-defendants. The objections focus on the manner in which the defendants were notified to appear in court, an issue the judge agreed should be resolved before any arrest warrant is considered.
Ganduje — who served as governor of Kano State from 2015 to 2023 and later became the national chairman of the APC — is facing a 10-count charge that accuses him and three others of criminal conspiracy, misappropriation of public funds, breach of trust and conflict of interest. The allegations relate to the controversial ownership and transfer of equity stakes in the Dala Inland Dry Port Limited, a port project in Kano. Prosecutors contend that state equity was improperly diverted and that public funds were unlawfully spent on infrastructure, benefiting private interests.
The defendants named alongside Ganduje include his former aide Abubakar Bawuro, lawyer Adamu Aliyu-Sanda and the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello. The Kano State Government’s legal team sought to use the bench warrant to compel attendance because the defendants have repeatedly failed to appear in person, prompting concerns about the progress of the trial.
In refusing the state’s request, the court granted the defence’s application to hear the preliminary objections first — a legal procedure that could affect the future conduct of the case. The hearing of those objections has been adjourned to February 23, 2026, during which the court will consider whether substitute service of court papers and other procedural matters complied with legal standards.
The refusal to issue an arrest warrant does not dismiss the underlying charges against Ganduje, but it does afford him temporary procedural relief and ensures that key legal questions about jurisdiction and proper service are settled before the trial moves forward.
Critics of the state government’s approach have previously described its efforts to secure Ganduje’s arrest as part of a broader political and legal confrontation — including earlier calls by Kano authorities for his detention over related matters — but the defence has consistently challenged those moves as baseless or legally flawed. Ganduje himself has publicly dismissed some of the allegations as politically motivated and unsubstantiated.
The case remains an important test of legal process and accountability in Nigeria’s governance landscape, particularly concerning how allegations of corruption involving high-ranking public officials are prosecuted and adjudicated. The outcome of preliminary objections next month is expected to shape the pace and direction of the trial in the months ahead.
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