A High Court 3 in Kano has on Friday upheld the enforcement of a Kaduna State High Court judgment, clearing the way for the attachment and sale of properties belonging to former lawmaker, Mahmood Sani Sha'aban.
The decision followed an application by Sha'aban, through his counsel, Mr M.Salihu, seeking to set aside proceedings for enforcement of the judgment and obtain an order staying further action pending determination of the matter.
At the resume hearing of the case in Kano on Friday counsel to the respondent and judgment creditor, Mr Abdullahi Yahya, SAN, opposed the application.
He argued that the applicants failed to comply with earlier court orders directing payment of the debt within the agreed timeline and procedure.
Delivering judgment, Justice Faruk Lawal dismissed the application after holding that the applicants failed to present sufficient grounds to justify setting aside the enforcement proceedings or granting any of the reliefs sought.
The judge consequently ordered the applicants to comply with the subsisting judgment, affirming that the respondent was entitled to proceed with lawful enforcement measures to recover the outstanding debt from Sha'aban's assets.
Speaking after the ruling, Yahya explained that registration of a judgment enables its enforcement in another state where the judgment debtor owns assets, despite the original judgment having been delivered in a different jurisdiction.
He said the judgment was obtained in Kaduna State, while one of the debtor's properties is located in Kano, making registration before the Kano High Court necessary for effective enforcement.
Yahya said the ruling now empowers the judgment creditor to attach and auction Sha'aban's properties situated in Kano in accordance with the law, towards recovering the debt owed to Alhaji Umar Faruk Abdullahi.
It could be that the case stems from a 2018 loan agreement between Sha'aban and Abdullahi.
Court documents showed that the loan was advanced to secure Sha'aban's release following his arrest and detention in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that same year.
Under the agreement, Abdullahi advanced $1 million and N11.2 million to Sha'aban as an interest-free loan in line with Islamic financial principles.
The agreement, drafted and witnessed by Sha'aban's lawyers, was initially signed by his son and later countersigned by Sha'aban after his return from Dubai.
The loan was to be repaid within six months and in the same currency in which it was advanced.
Although Sha'aban subsequently repaid $290,762, he allegedly failed to settle the outstanding balance, leading to the legal action that culminated in the enforcement proceedings now affirmed by the Kano State High Court.