Kano Deputy Governor Faces Impeachment After Court Dismisses Suit

The Kano State deputy governor, Aminu Abdulsalam Gwarzo, is facing possible impeachment after failing to respond to allegations levelled against him by the Kano State House of Assembly within the stipulated period.

The Majority Leader of the House, Husseini Lawan, said the two-week deadline given to the deputy governor to defend himself had expired without any response.

“As I am speaking, there is no response from the deputy governor. I confirmed from the Clerk of the House, and there is no communication from his office,” Lawan said in a telephone interview with Leadership newspaper.

He noted that the deadline elapsed last Friday, adding that the Assembly expected a response by Monday or Tuesday despite the public holiday, but none was received.

Lawan disclosed that the Assembly, currently on recess, would resume plenary on March 30 to determine the next course of action.

“Once we resume, we will confirm whether he responded within the timeframe. If not, we will proceed with the constitutional process, including investigation of the allegations. If established, impeachment proceedings will follow,” he added.

He explained that the process would involve the state chief judge constituting a panel to investigate the allegations and submit its report within two weeks.

The Assembly had, on March 5, initiated impeachment proceedings against Gwarzo over allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office and breach of public trust.

The notice, presented during plenary by the majority leader and presided over by the speaker, Ismail Falgore, was said to be in line with Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution.

The lawmakers accused the deputy governor of collecting monthly kickbacks from the 44 local government councils while serving as commissioner for local government, allegedly running into hundreds of millions of naira. He was also accused of approving the release of N440m from council funds to a private firm in violation of procurement laws.

No fewer than 38 lawmakers signed the impeachment notice, which was subsequently served on the deputy governor.

Meanwhile, the Federal High Court has dismissed an application filed by Gwarzo seeking an interim injunction to stop the impeachment process.

The court, presided over by Justice S.M. Shaibu, on March 25, 2026, held that the deputy governor failed to meet the conditions required for the grant of the ex-parte motion.

The court also directed him to serve the respondents with the court processes to enable them respond.

In a related development, the Assembly had earlier obtained an interim order on March 11, 2026, restraining the deputy governor from taking steps to hinder it from performing its constitutional duties under Section 188 of the Constitution.