Unlawful Removal: Court Suspends Two Trustees of Arewa Development Support Initiative 

* Declares all actions null and void

Alex Enumah in Abuja 

A Federal High Court in Abuja has suspended Khurairah Musa and Celina Gar as trustees of the Arewa Development Support Initiative (ADSI) over their unlawful removal of six other trustees of the group.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, in a judgment, also nullified all actions taken by the duo between March 1 and April 30, 2024, for being illegal.

The plaintiff, Incorporated Trustees of ADSI, had dragged the defendants to court for removing six trustees of the ADSI, without recourse to the constitution of the association.

Besides, the plaintiff accused them of fraudulently carrying out certain alterations on plaintiff’s documents at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) between March and April 2024.

In a statement of claim filed in support of the suit, the plaintiff further alleged that the alterations were done by the defendants without a meeting of the trustees and the General Assembly authorising such action, adding that six trustees of the plaintiff were removed by the defendants without any meeting of the General Assembly.

While the plaintiff sought a declaration that the defendants cannot unilaterally in direct violation of its registered constitution remove the registered trustees of the plaintiff, they prayed for an order suspending the first and second defendants as Trustees of the Arewa Development Support Initiative. 

“An order nullifying all actions of the Ist and 2nd defendants carried out between March 1, 2024 and April 30, 2024. 

“An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Ist and 2nd defendants from holding out themselves as trustees of the claimant pending the determination of the case.”

Delivering judgment on September 30, 2026 in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1572/2024, the trial court agreed with the plaintiff that the defendants violated the association’s constitution by unilaterally removing six trustees of the ADSI.

According to a certified true copy (CTC) of the judgment dated October 2 but sighted on Monday by THISDAY, the judge held that the constitution of ADSI ought to be sacrosanct to those it applies to and that any breach shall be considered fundamental.

“Flowing from the afore produced Exhibit K1, it trite that where a statute provided ways of doing an act, it is only that way that must be followed and not any other way. 

“It is in that vein that I hold that the plaintiffs WhatsApp platform was not and is not the constitutionally prescribed place to conduct the affairs of the plaintiff. 

“Consequently, I adjudge this suit in favour of plaintiff and I forthwith declare as follows:

“That the defendants cannot unilaterally in direct violation of its registered constitution remove the registered trustees of the plaintiff. 

“That the Ist and 2nd defendants are forthwith suspended as trustees of the Arewa Development Support Initiative.

“That all actions of the 1st and 2nd defendants carried out between March 1, 2024 and April 30, 2024 are forthwith nullified.”

Meanwhile, a statement by a member of the Registered Trustee of ADSI, Safaa Musa Usman Adam, disclosed that Khurairah Musa unilaterally orchestrated the removal of active members of the Registered Trustees of ADSI, including the Secretary General.

The statement added that her unlawful actions started with engaging unsuspecting lawyers to fabricate the necessary CAC documentation, secretly and without the consent or knowledge of the secretary general and other victimized members of the registered trustees, and caused them to be removed as members of the Registered Trustees of ADSI. 

“She then proceeded to cause the unlawful alteration of the Constitution of the Association to suit her whim. Furthermore, she became abusive and aggressively challenged anyone who held any opinion which in her view ran contrary to her wishes.

“These unprovoked and misguided conduct sparked disharmony within the ranks of the Association and ultimately led to the institution of the action which produced the within Federal High Court Judgement. There was nothing done by Khurairah Musa and her cohorts that was in line with the constitutional provision of ADSI, no wonder the Judge nullified all her actions within the stated period,” the statement read in part.

The statement also recalled an earlier mediation effort by respected Arewa elders whose resolution, it said, Musa disrespectfully rejected. 

While welcoming the outcome as a restoration of constitutional order following a dispute that had distracted ADSI from its development mission, Adam called on the trustees and members to respect the judgment, end further division and return the Initiative’s attention to the development of Arewa and the welfare of its people.

ADSI’s objective is empowering women and youths and driving community development across the 19 northern states of Nigeria and the FCT.