Kwankwaso’s Brother Drags Kano Gov To Court Over Land Dispute

Garba Musa Kwankwaso, the younger brother of former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has filed a lawsuit against Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, seeking an interlocutory injunction to prevent any action on a disputed piece of land in Kwankwasiyya City in the State.

According to court documents, the suit, filed at the Kano State High Court, also has the Commissioner for Land and Physical Planning, Kano State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KNUPDA), and the Attorney General of the State as Respodents.

The land, measuring over 100 hectares, was initially allocated to WAECO Nigeria Limited during Governor Kwankwaso-led administration but was later revoked in 2017 under Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. Investigations by the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission revealed that the company, officially known as Water and Agricultural Engineering Company Limited, was linked to Rabiu and Garba Kwankwaso as directors. The anti-graft agency argued that WAECO was not a legally recognized entity at the time of the allocation, leading to its recommendation for revocation.

Following the revocation, part of the land was allocated to Mallam Kato Square, while the rest was returned to the original owners. Governor Yusuf has reportedly resisted calls to return the land to WAECO, a development leading to the legal action.

Following the governor’s alleged refusal to return the land to WAECO, Garba Kwankwaso filed an application at a Kano High Court, pursuant to Order 38 Rule 4,(1), Order 39 Rule 1 (2), Order 45 Rule 14 of The Kano State High Court Rules, 2014, with two prayers “restraining the defendants/respondents either by themselves, their agents, privies, servants, representatives and/or contractors or whosoever acting on their behalf or instructions from entering upon, demarcating, beaconing, partitioning, building, allocating any part or doing any act adverse to the interest of the Plaintiffs/Applicants on the plaintiffs/Applicants’ piece of land lying and situate along Western By-Pass at Kwankwasiyya 11, Kano, Kano State particularly described in Survey Plan No. TP/KNUPDA/333 delineated red and marked as WAECO NIGERIA LIMITED covered by Certificate of Occupancy No. LKN/COM/2013/84 (hereinafter called “The Subject (Property”) pending the determination of the Substantive suit filed by the Plaintiffs/Applicants.

“And such other order(s) as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances of this case.”

The application is supported by a nine-paragraph affidavit deposed to by one Faith Job, a litigation secretary in law firm of P.A. Attabor & Co., counsel to the Kwankwasos.

The presiding judge, Justice Usman Na’abba, granted the application on November 13 and adjourned the case to November 27 for further hearing.