By Abdulgafar Oladimeji

The chairman, Alfindinki football club, one Abba Hamza Baba has dragged Kano state Football Association , KSFA before the state high court , over the claims of an alleged violation of his fundamental human rights.

Abba in an motion on notice has told the court that his grievance’s against Kano FA was brought pursuant to the provisions of section 35, 40 and 46 of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria as amended.

He told the court that Kano FA chairman, Sharif Rabiu Inuwa Ahlan, Kano FA secretary, one Shehu Buhari, Kano FA vice chairman, Aminu China have jointly denied him the right to feature his players in the state Tofa premier league.

According to him, on protesting against his alleged maltreatment by the respondents , the FA instituted criminal complaints against him with the police, leading to his arrest , detention and arraignment before the state chief magistrate court no 23.

The club proprietor in an affidavit sworn in support of the motion on notice dated 17th April , 2025, said that he obtained Tofa premier league slot belonging to the now defunct Warriors football club at the sum of N700,000, adding that he was forced to pay the state FA N350,000 being 50 percent commission for the purchase of the slot .

The plaintiff told the court that, he also paid the sum of N120,000 to the state FA through Tofa Premier league Forum, adding that he further paid the sum of N58,000, for what he said the state FA termed as unattached fees.

Abba further alleged that, on the 15th of February,, 2025 , he paid the sum of N165,000, into the account of the state FA being payment for the clearance of three players that were transferred from Kano Municipal football club to his club.

The club fulfilled all the laid out requirements to feature in the Tofa Premier, though were denied the opportunity to compete in the league, by the state FA, the court heard.

The club owner through his attorney, Mahmud Ishaq then prayed the court to declare the actions carried out by Sharif Rabiu Inuwa Ahlan, Shehu Buhari, Aminu China against the plaintiff as unlawful, unconstitutional and amounts to the deprivation of his constitutional rights to association.

He further prayed the court to order the respondents to release the players license to Abba Hamza Baba , asking the court to also order the respondents to tender an apology for their wrongful actions.

The respondents had earlier filled an preliminary objection, stating that the court lacks the jurisdiction to preside over the matter.

The Kano high court no 4 sitting at Audu Bako secretariat preside over by justice usman Na’Abba had fixed the matter for July 10 for hearing, the state FA chairman and secretary ,on the fixed date had written to notify the court that they would not be able to attend the court session, the advocate for Aminu China was however present in court.

The matter is adjourned to July 24, for hearing.

Sources have revealed how the Vice President Kashim Shettima secretly visited former president Muhammadu Buhari in London.

The vice president was said to have visited Buhari who is reportedly sick under the directive of President Bola Tinubu.

It was gathered that Tinubu directed Shettima to travel to London from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he attended the official launch of the East African country’s Green Legacy Initiative (GLI) on the invitation of the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed Ali.

Sources said the vice president departed Addis Ababa on Sunday and arrived in London, where he headed to a hospital where the ex-president was receiving medical attention on Monday.

Tinubu had asked the vice president, Politics Nigeria gathered to ensure that Buhari was receiving adequate support.

Recall that Empowered Newswire reported that the ex-president was sick.

However, sources claimed he is currently recuperating.

In addition, his former aides, Garba Shehu and Bashir Ahmed have earlier stated that the health condition of the former president was blown out of proportion.

Shettima’s visit to London was also confirmed by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha.

Nkwocha, however, did not disclose the reason for his principal’s visit to the United Kingdom.

Kano State has emerged as the highest-ranking state in Nigeria in terms of new National Identification Number (NIN) registrations for the first half of 2025, with an impressive figure of over 1.01 million new registrants. This was revealed in data released by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and compiled by TheCable Index.

According to the NIMC statistics, Kano leads the national tally by a wide margin, outpacing Lagos State, which recorded 412,220 new NINs within the same period. Kaduna came in third with 309,620 registrations, further highlighting the significant engagement of Northern states in the identity registration process.

The data also showed robust performance from other states in the North-East and North-West regions. Adamawa recorded 217,650 new NINs, Borno followed closely with 209,500, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) trailed slightly behind at 209,240. Kebbi State also featured prominently with 192,050 new entries.

Southern states recorded varying levels of progress, with Ogun State leading the region with 187,490 new NINs. Oyo (183,600), Akwa Ibom (176,850), and Rivers (141,020) also posted commendable figures. Meanwhile, Delta recorded 123,910 new registrations, indicating sustained participation in the identity documentation campaign.

In the middle and lower tiers of the ranking, states like Zamfara (50,800), Bayelsa (46,470), and Gombe (42,340) registered more modest figures. At the bottom of the chart were Cross River (27,210), Ekiti (26,640), and Kogi (26,040), raising concerns about the pace of NIN uptake in those areas.

The diaspora community was not left out, with a total of 49,950 NINs generated by Nigerians living abroad between January and June 2025.

The significant numbers recorded, especially in Kano, reflect ongoing efforts by the federal government to promote national identity registration, which is critical for security, planning, and service delivery.

NIMC officials say the increase in figures is largely due to expanded enrollment centers, mobile registration units, and increased awareness campaigns targeted at both urban and rural populations across the federation.

As Nigeria continues to expand its digital infrastructure and streamline access to government services, the NIN remains a key requirement for accessing banking services, passport applications, and telecommunications registration, among others.

The data reinforces the urgency for lagging states to intensify registration drives to ensure inclusivity and national data accuracy.