A Federal High Court, Kano, has adjoined to April 14, 2025 for definite hearing on a suit to restrain the federal government, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the accountant-general of the federation from disbursing statutory funds to the 44 local government councils in the state.
The adjournment follows the absence of the ninth defense counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), who through a letter sought for an adjournment till after the Easter vacation.
The applicants in the suits are Abdullahi Abbas, Aminu Aliyu-Tiga, and the All Progressive Congress (APC), while the respondents are the CBN, the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), accountant-general of the federation, minister of finance, auditor general of the federation, and attorney general of the federation.
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Others are the secretary to the government of the federation, the Kano State Government, attorney general of Kano State, Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), and the 44 local government councils of the state.
The applicants is also seeking a declaration of the elected councils (12th to 55th respondents) to be declared null, and void, having been elected through KASIEC whose chairman, and board members were not properly constituted, and were dissolved by the court for partisanship.
When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, Justice Simon Amobeda, who informed the court of Awomolo’s letter, lamented how the case has suffered setbacks due to several adjournments.
He however, noted that as a civil case, and in the interest of justice, this was the last adjournment he would grant on the matter.
The judge therefore, ordered that all processes be filed and served before the next adjourned date of April 14, 2025, when the matter will come up for definite hearing.
Earlier, counsel to KANSIEC, John Baiyeshea (SAN), and counsel to the applicant, Abdul Fagge (SAN), had urged the court to adjourn the matter in the interest of justice, since Awomolo was absent.
