Court fines Lawyer N100,000 for ‘time wasting’

From Femi Oyelola,Kaduna

The Kaduna State High Court, Appeal Session 1, sitting at Zaria, has asked a lawyer, Usman Gambo, to pay the sum of N100,000 as compensation for the delay and other inconveniences caused during the appeal proceedings between his client, Alhaji Sani Sha’aban, and the respondent, Umar Faruk.

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 the 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 was ordered 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 had had on the process.

Similarly, counsel to the appellant, Usman Gambo, responded to the court’s decision, acknowledging the directive and promising 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.