A court in Kano has ordered the Kano State Government to pay a total of N1 million in legal costs following a dispute over the retention of official vehicles by former state commissioners.
The ruling was delivered by Justice Mahmood Abba Namtari of the National Industrial Court in Kano on Tuesday. The costs were awarded after the state government’s legal team requested an adjournment, citing insufficient time to prepare its response to a suit filed by five former commissioners.
The former commissioners—Dr. Yusuf Ibrahim K/Mata, AVM Ibrahim Umar (Rtd), Nasir Sule Garo, Adamu Aliyu Kibiya, and Mustapha Rabi’u—sued to prevent the government from reclaiming the official cars assigned to them during their tenure. The defendants include the Kano State Attorney General, the Governor, and the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission.
During the hearing, Barrister S. U. Jibril, representing the state government, informed the court that his team was only briefed on the matter on Monday afternoon and could not complete the necessary paperwork. He requested a new date for the hearing. However, Suraj Sa’ed (SAN), counsel for the former commissioners, did not oppose the adjournment but argued that costs should be awarded because the government had already been properly served with court documents earlier and should have been prepared.
Jibril countered that the government was still within the statutory timeframe to file its response, as the defendants were served on March 3. Justice Namtari noted, however, that the court record showed service was actually effected on February 26, before the government’s claimed briefing date. Consequently, the judge found the request for more time unjustified and ordered the respondents to pay N200,000 in costs for each of the five consolidated cases, totaling N1 million. The substantive hearing was adjourned until April 28, 2026.
This case is part of a broader legal contest concerning the entitlement of former Kano State executives to retain official vehicles post-tenure. Previously, the court denied the former commissioners’ bid for an immediate injunction to halt the vehicle recoveries, directing that full arguments must first be heard. Tuesday’s cost order underscores the court’s expectation for timely procedural compliance from state entities in litigation. The outcome may set a precedent on the handling of state assets by former officials in Nigeria.
