The demolition of a billion-naira property belonging to former House of Representatives member for Sabon Gari Federal Constituency, Zaria, Kaduna State, Hon. Mahmoud Sani Sha’aban, has been challenged in court, with his counsel alleging that the action violated the court order.
Briefing journalists after court proceedings on Monday, October 19, 2026, at the Chief Magistrate Court, Chediya, GRA, Zaria, Sha’aban’s counsel, Barrister Abubakar M. Muhammad, said the legal team appeared before the court presided over by Magistrate Ibrahim Sa’idu to seek clarification regarding the demolition of their client’s property in a dispute involving Karim General Merchant.
He explained that the dispute was already before the Federal High Court, where proceedings concerning the auction of his client’s properties were ongoing. According to him, the opposing party subsequently approached the Chief Magistrate Court and obtained an order to occupy the property while an appeal against the auction was still pending.
Barrister Muhammad alleged that the court order did not authorise the demolition of the property.
He said, “The court order did not mention the demolition of the property. They used the order to pull down the house, which is why we appeared before the same court this morning. They presented what we call a counter-affidavit for us to respond to.”
On the status of the court order, the counsel maintained that the court had rejected the interpretation that the order authorised the demolition, adding that restrictions had been placed on further activities concerning the property pending the final judgment.
He further disclosed that the court adjourned the matter until October 27, 2026, while the legal team was planning to institute a fresh case over the demolition to seek damages.
The dispute centres on the demolition of the property despite the ongoing legal proceedings concerning its auction and ownership.
Our efforts to obtain a response from Karim General Merchant’s lawyer, as well as any further clarification from the court, were unsuccessful, at the time of filing this report.