In a ruling delivered on Monday, a three-member panel of
justices led by Boloukuromo Ugo dismissed the appeal for lack of a valid record
of appeal before the court.

“The record of appeal which the appellant claimed to have
transmitted to the court was not transmitted, but rather merely compiled,” Ugo
held.

“In view of there being no competent record of appeal, the
appeal is hereby struck out pursuant to Order 8 Rule 18(2) of the Court of
Appeal Rules.”

The Kano state government had filed an 11-count charge
bordering on bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public
funds running into billions of naira against Ganduje; Hafsat, his wife; Umar
Abdullahi Umar, his son; and five others.

Other defendants in the case include Abubakar Bawuro,
Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and
Lasage General Enterprises Limited.

In May 2025, Amina Adamu-Aliyu, judge of the Kano state high
court, dismissed a preliminary objection filed by the defendants challenging
the court’s jurisdiction, describing it as “incompetent”.

She ruled that the charges filed against the former governor
and his co-defendants on May 13, 2024, were valid and properly before the
court.

Dissatisfied with the decision, the defendants approached
the appellate court to contest the ruling, arguing that the trial court lacked
jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

However, the appellate court’s decision on Monday
effectively ended that challenge, paving the way for the substantive hearing of
the corruption case to proceed at the Kano state High court.

The Kano government’s case against Ganduje stems from
allegations of bribery and diversion of state funds during his tenure as
governor.