The Court of Appeal in Kano has dismissed an appeal filed by Lamash Properties Limited contesting the jurisdiction of the Kano State High Court to preside over the corruption trial of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and seven others.
Gatekeepers News reports that in its ruling on Monday, a three-member panel led by Justice Boloukuromo Ugo struck out the appeal, noting that there was no valid record of appeal before the court.
Justice Ugo said, “The record of appeal which the appellant claimed to have transmitted to the court was not transmitted, but rather merely compiled.”
“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 Kano State Government had earlier filed an 11-count charge against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, his son Umar Abdullahi Umar, and five others over alleged bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds amounting to billions of naira.
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 had dismissed a preliminary objection raised by the defendants, ruling that the charges were valid and properly before the court. She described the objection as “incompetent.”
Dissatisfied with that decision, the defendants approached the appellate court, insisting that the trial court lacked the authority to hear the matter.
With Monday’s ruling, the appellate court has now cleared the way for the substantive trial to continue at the Kano State High Court, where Ganduje and his co-defendants face allegations of bribery and diversion of public funds during his tenure as governor.
