Court gavel
Federal High Court on Monday in Kano dismissed a lawsuit initiated by Abdullahi Abbas of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and another plaintiff, aimed at halting statutory allocations to Kano State’s 44 Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The suit, filed through their counsel Sunday Olowomoran on November 1, 2024, named multiple respondents, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Accountant-General of the Federation, Minister of Finance, Auditor General, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Kano State Government, Kano State Attorney General, Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), and the 44 LGAs.
The plaintiffs sought a court declaration that the 44 LGAs were not democratically elected under Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and requested an injunction to prevent the Federal Government, CBN, and Accountant-General from disbursing funds to these councils.
However, Justice Simon Amobeda dismissed the case, citing procedural grounds.
He noted that although a notice of discontinuance was filed, a hearing date had already been set, referencing Order 50 Rules 3, 4, and 5.
“To prevent the case from being revived later, the appropriate action is to dismiss it. Leave is granted to withdraw, and the suit is hereby dismissed without costs,” Amobeda ruled.
Earlier, Olowomoran, representing lead counsel Abdul Adamu-Fagge, SAN, informed the court of an appellate court ruling on June 30, stating that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction and that the matter belonged in the Kano State High Court.
“The appellate court ruled this court lacks jurisdiction, so we request the case be struck out,” Olowomoran said.
Counsel for the CBN and RMAFC, B.D. Uche and S.G. Ahmad, argued for dismissal with N1 million costs each, noting their clients were not part of the appeal.
The Attorney-General of the Federation’s counsel, Tajudeen Abdullahi, also pushed for dismissal with N2.5 million costs.
Bashir Yusuf-Muhammad, representing the Kano State Government, urged dismissal with N2 billion costs, while Sani Mustafa-Dauda, counsel for the Kano State Attorney-General, requested N5 million. KANSIEC’s counsel, Ibrahim Wangida, sought dismissal with N2 million costs, citing “psychological and physical trauma” and operational disruptions, including a three-month office lockdown. Eyitayo Fatogun, SAN, representing the 44 LGAs, and Mustapha Hussaini, counsel for the elected LGA chairmen, also supported dismissal, requesting N2 million and N44 million costs, respectively.
NAN reports that on October 23, 2024, the court had previously halted the local government elections scheduled for October 26, 2025, until KANSIEC’s reconstitution, following its dissolution for alleged partisanship.
NAN
