The protracted legal battle over the estate of the late Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Hamza Abdullahi has taken a new turn as the Kano state High Court is set to interpret the powers of the state’s Judicial Service Commission (JSC) in matters involving Islamic Personal Law.
The plaintiff, Yahaya Garba, is challenging the Commission’s involvement in the distribution of the late AVM’s estate, arguing that such actions exceeded its constitutional and statutory authority.
AVM Hamza Abdullahi, a former military governor of Kano state, Minister of Works and Housing, and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory during the Ibrahim Babangida regime, passed away on January 3, 2019, in Frankfurt, Germany.
Following his death, attempts to distribute his vast estate, which include properties in Nigeria and abroad, company shares, and substantial financial assets, have been mired in disputes among his heirs.
The matter initially reached the Upper Shari’a Court Hausawa in Kano, where the immovable properties of the estate were distributed. However, the disagreements led to a challenge at the Kano state High Court by one of the late AVM’s sons, Abdullahi Hamza.
Blueprint reports that after the case returned to the Shari’a Court, Abdullahi Hamza sought a transfer of the case file to the Director of Shari’a Courts, a request dismissed by the presiding judge. Abdullahi Hamza then petitioned the Kano State JSC, which subsequently directed the case’s transfer – sparking the current litigation.
In his suit, Yahaya Garba, represented by Muhammad Maidugu Abubakar, Esq., contended that the JSC and its chairman, who is also the Chief Judge of Kano state, had no authority to exercise supervisory control over matters of Islamic Personal Law pending before Shari’a Courts.
He argued that such actions were unconstitutional and constituted an abuse of office.
He argued further that the directive from the Chief Judge to transfer the case file undermined the independence of the judiciary and violated established procedures under the Kano state Shari’a Court Law, 2000, and related regulations.
Garba is seeking a declaration that the directive to transfer the case file is unlawful, null, and void.
He is also praying the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the JSC from further involvement in the case and nullifying any actions taken pursuant to the directive.