The National Industrial Court sitting in Kano has ordered the Kano State Government to pay a total of N1 million in costs in a legal dispute involving former commissioners and the official vehicles assigned to them while in office.

Justice Mahmood Abba Namtari issued the ruling on Tuesday after the state government requested additional time to prepare its response to the suit.

The case was instituted by five former commissioners seeking a court order restraining the Kano State Government from retrieving the official vehicles allocated to them during their tenure.

During the proceedings, counsel to the Kano State Government, Barrister S. U. Jibril, informed the court that the government was not ready to proceed with the matter. He explained that he had only been briefed on the case the previous afternoon and had insufficient time to prepare the required documents.

“We were briefed yesterday around 2:30 p.m. by the office of the first defendant. We attempted to prepare our papers but could not complete them. We therefore request another date,” Jibril told the court.

In response, counsel to the former commissioners, Suraj Sa’ed (SAN), said he did not oppose the request for an adjournment but urged the court to award costs to his clients. He argued that the government had already been served with the court processes earlier and should have been adequately prepared.

Sa’ed asked the court to award N1 million as costs for each case, noting that the delay had caused inconvenience to the claimants.

Jibril, however, opposed the request, insisting that the government was still within the legally allowed timeframe to file its response.

“My lord, we should not be asked to pay costs. All the respondents were served on March 3, and we are still within time to file our papers,” he argued.

However, Justice Namtari observed that court records indicated that the defendants were served earlier, specifically on February 26.

The judge subsequently ordered the respondents to pay N200,000 as costs in each of the five related cases, bringing the total to N1 million. The matter was adjourned until April 28, 2026, for further hearing.

The former commissioners involved in the suit include Dr. Yusuf Ibrahim K/Mata, AVM Ibrahim Umar (Rtd), Nasir Sule Garo, Adamu Aliyu Kibiya, and Mustapha Rabi’u.

They are seeking a court order restraining the state government from reclaiming the official vehicles allocated to them during their time in office.

The defendants in the case are the Attorney General of Kano State, the Governor of Kano State, and the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission.

Earlier in the proceedings, the court had declined a request by the claimants for an interim order to immediately stop the government from retrieving the vehicles. Justice Namtari ruled that both parties must first present their arguments before any temporary order could be granted.

The case forms part of an ongoing legal dispute over whether former commissioners in Kano State are entitled to retain official vehicles assigned to them while serving in office.