Kaduna judge fines lawyer N100,000 for wasting court’s time

The Kaduna State High Court, Appeal Session 1, sitting at Zaria, has asked the counsel to Alhaji Sani Sha’aban to pay N100,000 in favour of counsel to the respondent, Umar Faruk, as compensation for the delay and other inconveniences caused during the appeal proceedings.

 The court also faulted the compiled record of proceedings submitted by the appellant’s counsel, saying it was improperly prepared and asked him to do the right thing before the next appeal session in July.

The presiding judges, Justice Bilkisu Muhammad and Justice D. Daka had cautioned counsel to Sha’aban, Usman Gambo, against wasting the court’s time and ordered him to correct the errors in the documentation and record of proceedings submitted by the appellant’s legal team.

In the debt appeal between Umar Faruk and Sani Sha’aban, the court ruled that the appellant’s counsel, Usman Gambo must pay N100,000 to the respondent’s counsel, Abdullahi Yahaya, for delays and inconvenience caused during the appeal proceedings.

The judges observed that the translated record from Hausa to English, presenting the previous Upper Sharia Court judgment which held on February 12, 2024, ordered Sha’aban to pay a debt balance of $709,238 and N11.2 million, contained inaccuracies and was not certified by the originating court.

The respondent’s counsel, Abdullahi Yahaya, described the act as a breach of court procedure and a possible attempt to frustrate the appeal process. He requested compensation which the court granted.

The case was earlier transferred from Zaria to Kafanchan due to a backlog of cases and failure to serve notice of appeal on the respondent.

However, on March 10, 2025, the case was returned to Zaria after jurisdiction was reviewed.

The respondent’s counsel Yahaya, had voiced his concern over the delay caused by the appellant’s counsel and the strain it has had on the process.

Similarly, counsel to the appellant, Usman Gambo responded to the court’s decision, acknowledging the directive and promised to address the identified errors.

The judges cautioned the appellant’s lawyer to avoid delay and to carefully revisit and correct the document before the next hearing.

 The case between Umar Faruk Abdullahi and Sani Sha’aban is scheduled to resume at the Zaria Appeal Session in July.

It will be recalled that on Monday, February 12, 2024, the Judge of the Upper Sharia Court 1, at Zaria GRA, in his final judgment based on the apparent evidence presented, Mallam Madahu directed Sani Sha’aban to repay the balance debt of $709,238 and N11.2 million he collected from the Umar Farukh Abdullahi.

 Sha’aban had already paid $290,762 out of the money he borrowed from Faruk when he decided to appeal .

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