The Kano State Government has filed a lawsuit against former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, his two sons, and several associates over an alleged ₦4.49 billion fraud and the misappropriation of public assets tied to the Dala Inland Dry Port project.
The case, filed before the Kano State High Court on October 13, 2025, seeks to recover the state’s 20 per cent equity stake in Dala Inland Dry Port Limited, as well as ₦4,492,387,013.76 in public funds purportedly diverted for personal gain.
Named as defendants are: Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje,Umar Abdullahi Umar and Muhammad Abdullahi Umar (his sons),Abubakar Sahabo Bawuro, former Special Adviser,Hassan Bello, former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council,Adamu Aliyu Sanda, a legal practitioner, and Dala Inland Dry Port Limited.
The defendants face a ten-count charge, including criminal conspiracy, misappropriation of public funds, breach of trust, and conflict of interest.
According to the charge sheet, Ganduje and his co-defendants allegedly conspired to fraudulently transfer 80 per cent of the dry port’s shares, including Kano State’s 20 per cent equity, to private interests through a shell company named City Green Enterprise.
Prosecutors allege that the transaction was deliberately structured to hide the true ownership of the port — a project initially conceived to promote economic development in Kano.
“The defendants deliberately hijacked a federal initiative and used proxies and fake entities to conceal the diversion of public assets meant for the people of Kano State,”
the prosecution stated.
Investigators claim that over ₦4.49 billion was siphoned under the pretext of financing infrastructure projects, such as road construction, electricity, and fencing, which were executed with public funds but benefited private companies linked to the accused.
Court documents indicate that the share transfer was allegedly executed unilaterally by Ganduje, without board consent, while evidence includes a policy document from the Obasanjo administration confirming Kano’s equity stake in the port.
The prosecution also plans to tender allegedly falsified documents and evidence of a ₦750 million transaction routed through Safari Textile Ltd.
The case is expected to feature key witnesses, including the lead investigating officer and an early stakeholder who claims to have been sidelined during the alleged fraudulent takeover.
