The National Industrial Court of Nigeria in Kano on Monday declined an application filed 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; and Nasir Sule Garo, former Commissioner for Special Duties.
Others are Adamu Aliyu Kibiya, former Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and Mustapha Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, former Commissioner for Youth.
The applicants, through their counsel, Mr Suraj Sa’ed, SAN, filed the motions ex parte pursuant to Order 17 Rule 1 of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2017.
The applicants sought an interim injunction restraining the respondents, their servants, agents or privies from taking steps to retrieve the official vehicles pending the hearing and determination of motions already filed before the court.
The 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 allocated to them as part of their conditions of service upon their appointment to the Kano State Executive Council.
They argued that, by convention and in line with the determination of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, commissioners are entitled to retain such vehicles at the end of their tenure.
In affidavits filed in support of the application, the former commissioners stated that they resigned their appointments in January 2026 but later received letters from the Office of the Secretary to the State Government directing them to return all official vehicles in their possession.
Delivering a ruling, Justice Mahmood Abba-Namtari declined to grant the ex parte reliefs and ordered that the respondents be put on notice to enable all parties to be heard before any interim order is made.
The judge adjourned the matter until March 10 for a hearing.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the applicants resigned their positions as commissioners following political developments surrounding Gov. Abba Kabir-Yusuf’s defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
