Court Refuses Ex-parte Bid By Ex-Kano Commissioners To Stop Vehicle Retrieval

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria sitting in Kano on Monday declined an application by five former members of the Kano State Executive Council seeking to restrain the state government from retrieving official vehicles allocated to them while in office.

The applicants are Dr. Yusuf Kofar-Mata, former Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation; retired AVM Ibrahim Umar, former Commissioner for Internal Security; Nasir Sule Garo, former Commissioner for Special Duties; Adamu Aliyu Kibiya, former Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation; and Mustapha Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, former Commissioner for Youth.

Through their counsel, Mr. Suraj Sa’ed (SAN), the ex-commissioners filed an ex-parte motion pursuant to Order 17 Rule 1 of the court’s Civil Procedure Rules, 2017, seeking an interim injunction restraining the respondents from taking steps to recover the vehicles pending the hearing of motions already before the court.

Listed as respondents in the suit are the Attorney General of Kano State, the governor of Kano State and the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission.

The former commissioners argued that the vehicles were part of their conditions of service and, by convention and in line with the determination of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, they were entitled to retain them at the end of their tenure.

In affidavits supporting the application, they stated that although they resigned in January 2026, they later received letters from the Office of the Secretary to the State Government directing them to return all official vehicles in their possession.

Ruling on the application, Justice Mahmood Abba-Namtari refused the ex-parte reliefs and ordered that the respondents be put on notice to ensure all parties are heard before any interim order is granted. The matter was adjourned to March 10 for hearing.

The ex-commissioners had resigned amid political realignments following the defection of Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, to the All Progressives Congress from the New Nigeria Peoples Party.