The National Industrial Court has ordered the Kano State Government to pay N1 million in costs for a suit instituted by five former commissioners, following the state’s decision to seek an adjournment in a legal dispute over the recovery of official vehicles.
The financial penalty followed the government’s request to postpone proceedings in the suit filed by the former cabinet members challenging attempts to reclaim vehicles allocated to them during their time in office.
During the proceedings, counsel representing the former commissioners opposed the adjournment, arguing that the application would unnecessarily delay the case.
The lawyer urged the court to impose a financial sanction on the state government, maintaining that repeated delays were hindering progress in the matter.
“The request for adjournment will only prolong the dispute and inconvenience the claimants who have come to court to assert their rights,” the counsel said, while asking the court to award substantial costs against the state.
Presiding judge Mahmood Namtari, however, granted the adjournment request but ruled that the government must compensate the claimants with N1 million for the delay caused by the application.
Justice Namtari explained that the cost was intended to discourage avoidable interruptions in the judicial process while ensuring that the matter proceeds without unnecessary setbacks.
“The application for adjournment is granted in the interest of justice, but the respondent shall pay the sum of N1 million as costs to the claimants,” the judge ruled.
The court also directed that the amount be shared equally among the five former commissioners who instituted the suit.
At the centre of the dispute is the state government’s attempt to recover official vehicles allocated to former commissioners while serving the state.
The claimants insist that the vehicles formed part of the benefits attached to their service in the state executive council.
However, the Kano State Government has maintained that the vehicles remain state property and must be returned once the tenure of the political appointees ends.
Earlier in the case, the former commissioners had asked the court to issue an interim order restraining the government from taking back the vehicles pending the determination of the suit. The request was declined by the court.
The ruling was delivered during proceedings at the National Industrial Court sitting in Kano on Tuesday, after which the case was adjourned to a later date for the hearing of the substantive applications filed by both parties.
