Zainab Musa Kwankwaso, the second wife of Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf, has approached an Upper Area Court in Gudu, Abuja, seeking the dissolution of their marriage.
Court documents obtained by DAILY NIGERIAN showed that she filed for divorce at the court, which subsequently issued a civil summons with reference number CV/97/26, directing the governor to appear on November 17, 2026.
Zainab, a daughter of former Kano State Governor and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, married Yusuf on July 29, 2006, while serving as an aide to her father. Their union produced six children.
The development comes amid a reported prolonged marital crisis, which sources linked to the political disagreement between Yusuf and his godfather and father-in-law, Kwankwaso, about a year ago.
Reports indicated that Zainab left the Kano Government House on October 28 and moved to her father’s residence on Miller Road, Kano, before travelling to Abuja by air without her police orderly and other security personnel.
Her police orderly reportedly raised the alarm after suspecting that something was wrong and alerted superior officers at the Government House, who subsequently informed the governor.
Airport security personnel were initially said to have received instructions not to allow her to board the flight. However, they later permitted her to travel after concerns that preventing her departure could cause a disturbance at the airport.
DAILY NIGERIAN also reported that security personnel assigned to her quarters at the Government House and officers attached to Kwankwaso’s Miller Road residence were arrested, interrogated and subsequently released by the Kano State Police Command.
Zainab’s elder sister and elder brother, Ado Kwankwaso, were also reportedly invited by the police over allegations that they helped her leave Kano. Sources further alleged that there were attempts to pressure the police into charging Ado with kidnapping.
In her court filing, Zainab attributed her decision to seek divorce to the breakdown of the marriage, which she described as being marked by a prolonged absence of mutual care, love, affection and emotional attachment.
She told the court that she had equally lost her love and affection for the governor and developed a strong aversion to the marriage.
She also expressed concerns that remaining in the union could make it difficult for her to fulfil the limits and obligations prescribed by Allah for a wife.
According to the court documents, Zainab said several attempts to reconcile the couple and restore peace in their marriage had proved unsuccessful. She further claimed that the governor had completely lost interest in the union.
Consequently, she indicated her willingness to return the dowry paid by Yusuf during their wedding to facilitate the dissolution of the marriage.
She is seeking separation through khul’i, an Islamic legal process that allows a woman to initiate divorce, usually by offering compensation or refunding the dowry received from her husband.
Meanwhile, the Kano State Commissioner for Information, Sanusi Dawakin Tofa, did not respond to calls and a text message requesting the governor’s reaction to the development.
