A National Industrial Court in Kano has ordered the Kano State Government to pay N1 million in costs in a legal dispute involving former commissioners over official vehicles assigned to them during their tenure. The ruling was delivered by Justice Mahmood Abba Namtari on Tuesday, following the government’s request for more time to prepare its response.
The case was filed by five former commissioners seeking to prevent the state government from reclaiming the official vehicles they used while in office. During proceedings, the government’s lawyer, Barrister S. U. Jibril, explained that he had only been briefed about the matter on Monday and required additional time to prepare the necessary documents.
The lawyer representing the former commissioners, Suraj Sa’ed, SAN, supported the adjournment but requested that the court award costs to his clients, arguing that the state had received the court documents earlier and caused unnecessary delay. Justice Namtari noted that court records showed the defendants were served on February 26, not March 3 as claimed, and consequently ordered N200,000 in costs for each of the five related cases, totaling N1 million.
The court also postponed further hearing of the case until April 28, 2026. The former commissioners involved in the suit include Dr. Yusuf Ibrahim K/Mata, AVM Ibrahim Umar (Rtd), Nasir Sule Garo, Adamu Aliyu Kibiya, and Mustapha Rabi’u. The defendants are the Kano State Governor, the Attorney General, and the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission.
This dispute is part of an ongoing legal battle over whether former commissioners have the right to retain official vehicles assigned to them during their tenure. Earlier requests for an urgent order to immediately halt vehicle retrieval were rejected by the court, with Justice Namtari ruling that arguments from both sides must first be heard.
