By Musa Muhammad
The Kaduna State High Court has ordered the auction of several properties belonging to former federal lawmaker, former Kaduna governorship aspirant, and Sirikin Buhari — former President Muhammadu Buhari’s in-law — Alhaji Mahmood Sani Sha’aban (Danburam Zazzau), following a long-running loan dispute between him and prominent businessman Alhaji Umar Faruk Abdullahi, on Monday, 1st June 2026.
The properties ordered for auction include a plot and buildings in G.R.A Zaria, located behind his residential house opposite Therbow Secondary School in Zaria, with Certificate of Occupancy No. KD 3984; and a plot and buildings on Plot No. 3, Churchill Road, GRA Zaria, with Certificate of Occupancy No. KD 11226.
Other properties include a plot and buildings at Tulips, MTD Junction by the side of Queen Elizabeth Road, GRA Zaria, with Certificate of Occupancy No. KD 15052, and Mazari Nails Limited company located along the Kaduna-Kano highway, with Certificate of Occupancy No. KD 6246.
Speaking to journalists after the auction, Mr. Abdullahi Yahaya, SAN, who is counsel to the plaintiff Umar Faruk Abdullahi, said what was carried out on the day was the auction and sale of the debtor’s properties as stipulated by the judgment of High Court No. 1 in Zaria.
He added that the court seized five properties of the debtor, with four of them in Zaria and one in Kano.
For the record, this case originated from a loan agreement entered into in 2018 between Hon. Sani Mahmud Sha’aban (Dan Buram Zazzau) and Alhaji Umar Faruk Abdullahi to help Sha’aban resolve an issue that led to his arrest and detention in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in 2018.
Under the agreement, the lender gave Sha’aban a loan of One Million US Dollars (US$1,000,000) and N11.2 million without interest or profit, under Islamic law. Sha’aban’s lawyers drafted and witnessed the agreement, while his son signed on his behalf. Upon his return from detention, Sha’aban himself signed again to confirm his acceptance of the agreement.
Subsequently, Sha’aban paid US$290,762 out of the One Million Dollar loan, but later refused to pay the remaining balance. One of the conditions of the agreement was that the loan be repaid within six months and in the same currency it was borrowed.
On 12th February 2024, High Court No. 1 in GRA Zaria ordered Sani Sha’aban, former Kaduna governorship aspirant, to pay the balance of US$709,238 and N11.2 million to Alhaji Umar Faruk Abdullahi.
The court also ordered the seizure of Sha’aban’s properties pledged as collateral for the loan.
A certified true copy of the judgment obtained by our correspondent in Suit No. KDH/Z/12A/2024 shows that the court ordered Sha’aban to pay all the money awarded by the court, both in Naira and Dollars, to the Chief Registrar of the Kaduna State High Court.
Despite Sha’aban’s efforts to appeal to higher courts, he lost at every level of appeal.
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