The gavel fell not on a thief or a brawler, but on a political chairman whose real crime, prosecutors say, was playing hide-and-seek with a court summons.
In a courtroom battle that had more twists than a Nollywood script, Safiyyanu Bala—who claims the throne of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kebbi State—stood shackled before Chief Magistrates’ Court I on Monday evening. His sin? Allegedly treating a High Court order like yesterday’s newspaper.
Two chairmen. One party. Zero handshake.
Bala leads the faction loyal to Abubakar Malami, the former Minister of Justice whose legal pedigree needs no introduction. His rival, Abdulrazak Abubakar, holds the other end of the ADC rope.
But this isn’t just a family feud. A High Court had already spoken—loud and clear—ordering everyone involved to freeze in place. Don’t move the secretariat. Stop parading yourself as chairman. Status quo, period.
Bala, prosecutors say, heard nothing.
Here’s where the script gets curiouser.
Garba Abubakar-Shehu, the complainant’s lawyer, painted a picture of a man who knew the sheriff was coming and decided to take a long walk.
“Despite being properly served,” Shehu told Magistrate Abubakar Abdullahi Koko and Magistrate A’isha Abdulmumin, “the defendant evaded service by the court’s bailiff.”
The man refused to show up, Shehu said, until Sunday’s arrest finally put him where he belonged—before the bench.
Enter Ahmad Abubakar-Fingilla, Bala’s defense counsel, who arrived with his own version of events.
One Issa Guluma, Fingilla explained, called Bala twice while he was away in Abuja. Two rings. That’s it. When Bala finally returned and dialed the bailiff back, he got the legal equivalent of “sorry, we’re closed”—the summons had expired and gone back to the registrar.
The defense also dropped a jurisdictional grenade: How can the Magistrates’ Court hear this when the High Court already has the same matter?
“Entertaining criminal and civil cases concurrently would amount to abuse of judicial process,” Fingilla argued, urging the court to recuse itself.
Shehu would have none of it.
“Civil and criminal cases can run concurrently,” he shot back, brandishing the Nwabusi & Others v. FG (2018 Law Reports) as his shield. Different courts. Different consequences. No abuse of process.
He cited Kebbi’s own Criminal Justice Administration Law—sections 105(3) and 121(1c)—as his jurisdictional sword.
And then came the moment that turned this case into something memorable.
Magistrate Abdullahi-Koko, delivering the court’s ruling, made a declaration that resonated beyond the courtroom walls: Telephone calls count.
“It is our view that the defendant cannot deny knowledge of the case in court,” the magistrate declared. Those phone conversations? They were notification. They were service. They were, in the eyes of this bench, enough.
“The service was properly effected. We hereby uphold the prayer of the claimant.”
The defendant’s liberty now hangs on a Tuesday afternoon—April 21, 3 p.m. sharp—when the court will rule on whether it even has the right to rule at all.
Until then, Magistrate Koko ordered, Bala stays in police custody.
The gavel banged. The courtroom exhaled. And somewhere in Birnin Kebbi, a political party’s soul remains very much up for grabs.
