A Kano State High Court on Tuesday dismissed a motion filed by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear an 11-count corruption charge brought against him and seven others.

Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu, who presided over the matter, ruled that the preliminary objections raised by Ganduje, who is a former governor of Kano, and his co-defendants were “incompetent” and lacked merit.

She affirmed the court’s jurisdiction to hear the charges, which include allegations of bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds amounting to billions of naira.

“The charges before this court are competent. The power to investigate criminal matters does not reside solely with the police. The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission is equally empowered under the law,” Justice Aliyu stated.

The judge emphasised that the trial would proceed even in the absence of Ganduje and the six other defendants.

She also summoned the sixth defendant, Lamash Properties Limited, and adjourned the case to July 30 and 31 for hearing.

The defendants include Ganduje’s wife, Prof. Hafsat Umar, and other individuals and companies: Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Safari Textiles Limited, Lasage General Enterprises Limited, and Lamash Properties Limited.

Counsel for the state, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, in response to the preliminary objections, had urged the court to dismiss all applications, describing them as “deliberate attempts to frustrate the trial”.

“We submitted that the objections lack legal foundation and urged the court to allow justice to take its full course,” Adedipe said.

Ganduje’s legal team, led by Lydia Oluwakemi Oyewo, had filed a preliminary objection dated November 18, 2024, seeking to quash the charges and halt the trial on the grounds that the court lacked jurisdiction.

In similar motions, counsels for the third, fifth, sixth, and eigth defendants—Chief M. N. Duru, SAN, Mr. Muhammad Shehu, Mr. Abubakar Ahmad, and Mr. Faruk Asekome respectively—each filed preliminary objections between September and October 2024, all challenging the legitimacy of the charges and the competence of the court.

Despite their submissions, the judge declared, “None of the applications have merit. The case must proceed in line with due process.”