A former member of the House of Representatives from Kaduna State, Mahmood Sani Sha'aban, has suffered a significant legal defeat after a Kaduna State High Court ordered the auction of several of his properties due to a long-standing debt dispute.
The Sheriff and Civil Process Unit of the Kaduna State High Court executed the auction on Monday, June 1, 2026, following court orders in a case involving businessman Umar Faruk Abdullahi. The affected properties include land and a building behind Sha'aban's residence opposite Therbow Secondary School, Zaria, with Certificate of Occupancy No. KD 3984, as well as land and structures at Plot No. 3 Churchill Road, GRA Zaria, with Certificate of Occupancy No. KD 11226. Other properties include land and buildings at Tulips, MTD Junction, along Queen Elizabeth Road, GRA Zaria, with Certificate of Occupancy No. KD 15052, and Mazari Nails Limited along the Kaduna-Kano Expressway with Certificate of Occupancy No. KD 6246.
The dispute originated from a loan agreement reportedly signed in 2018 between Sha'aban, also known as Dan Buran Zazzau, and businessman Abdullahi. According to court records, the loan was allegedly provided to assist Sha'aban during his arrest and detention in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in the same year. The judgment creditor advanced a total of $1 million and N11.2 million to Sha'aban under an interest-free arrangement based on Islamic financial principles. The agreement was reportedly drafted and witnessed by Sha'aban's lawyers, initially signed by his son and later countersigned by Sha'aban after his return from Dubai.
Although Sha'aban allegedly repaid $290,762, he failed to settle the outstanding balance of $709,238 along with the N11.2 million owed. The agreement required repayment within six months and in the same currency as the loan. On February 12, 2024, Upper Sharia Court 1 in Zaria ordered Sha'aban, a former Kaduna State governorship aspirant, to repay the outstanding debt to Abdullahi. The court also ordered the confiscation of properties used as collateral.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Sha'aban filed an appeal before the Kaduna State Sharia Court of Appeal on February 13, 2024, along with an application for a stay of execution. However, both the Upper Sharia Court and the Sharia Court of Appeal dismissed the application. Sha'aban then approached the appellate division of the Kaduna State High Court but lost again. On September 29, 2025, the appellate division affirmed the lower court's judgment.
A Certified True Copy of the ruling in Suit No. KDH/Z/12A/2024 showed that the court directed Sha'aban to pay the entire judgment sum in both naira and dollars to the Chief Registrar of the Kaduna State High Court. The panel, led by Justice Bilkisu Mohammed and Justice Nana Fatima Mohammed, held that monetary judgments are generally enforceable unless the applicant can prove the judgment creditor would be unable to refund the money if the appeal succeeds. “There is nothing before us to suggest that the respondent is impecunious and unable to refund the judgment sum should the appeal succeed,” the court ruled. The judges added that although courts are often reluctant to deny a successful litigant the fruits of judgment, the conditional stay earlier granted was in the interest of justice.
