A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned to November 24, 2025, the hearing of the alleged N1 billion fraud case involving the Chairman of Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), Professor Sani Lawan Malumfashi, and two other officials.
KANSIEC’s Commissioner for Legal Affairs, Barrister Muntari Garba Dandago, revealed that Justice J.J. Malik, on Monday, adjourned the case to enable proper service of court documents and to ensure the presence of all parties for the commencement of full legal proceedings.
LEADERSHIP reports that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) filed the case against Professor Malumfashi, the Commission’s Secretary, Anas Muhammed Mustapha; and the Deputy Director of Accounts, Ado Garba.
The trio is accused of conspiring between November and December 2024 of laundering public funds through illegal cash transactions.
According to the charges, KANSIEC under Malumfashi’s leadership allegedly transferred N1.02 billion from its Unity Bank account to SLM Agro Global Farm, a private company with no contractual relationship with the commission.
The defendants reportedly claimed that the funds were paid to the company to source cash for paying ad-hoc staff engaged during the 2024 local government elections in Kano State.
They further claimed that the funds were eventually returned to KANSIEC in cash.
During the session, ICPC’s prosecuting counsel, an Assistant Director in the Commission’s Legal Department, Barrister Enosa Omoghibo, informed the court that the case was slated for arraignment but noted, “the defendants were not in court.”
Responding, the defendants’ counsel, M.A. Magaji (SAN), argued that his clients had not been properly served with the charge sheet and other court documents.
He emphasised that service is fundamental to the court’s jurisdiction, and the lack of it accounted for their absence.
The court subsequently rescheduled the case to November 24, 2025.
