A Nigerian Federal High Court sitting in Kano on Monday dismissed a politically sensitive case filed by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which sought to block federal funds from being disbursed to Kano State’s 44 local government areas.
The suit was lodged by Abdullahi Abbas, Aminu Aliyu-Tiga, and the APC, challenging the legitimacy of the local councils and requesting that statutory allocations be frozen on the grounds that the councils were not democratically elected, violating Section 7(1) of Nigeria’s Constitution.
The defendants included a broad range of federal and state institutions, from the Central Bank of Nigeria and Federal Account Allocation Committee to the Kano State Government, its Attorney General, and the 44 local governments themselves.
However, when the matter came up in court, counsel for the applicants moved to withdraw the case. Sunday Olowomoran, representing the lead counsel, informed the court that the Court of Appeal had ruled the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction and that only the Kano State High Court could hear the case.
Justice Simon Amobeda, after considering arguments from all parties, dismissed the suit rather than striking it out, noting that a hearing date had already been set and citing Order 50 of the court rules. “To avoid resuscitating the case in the future, the proper order to make is to dismiss the case,” he said.
Although the court chose not to award any costs, many respondents had urged heavy financial penalties on the plaintiffs. Lawyers representing different federal and state bodies sought compensation ranging from ₦1 million to ₦44 million. KANSIEC’s counsel, Ibrahim Wangida, described the damage done to the electoral body as both psychological and operational, claiming the office was shut down for three months during the dispute.
Counsel for the 44 local government chairpersons, Mustapha Hussaini, requested the court award a total of ₦44 million in legal costs, one for each council.
The case also connects to a previous ruling in October 2024, when the court ordered the postponement of local government elections in Kano, originally scheduled for October 2025, until KANSIEC could be properly reconstituted following findings of partisan compromise.
The dismissal marks a temporary legal reprieve for Kano’s local governments and underlines the importance of jurisdictional clarity in Nigerian electoral and constitutional disputes.