Kwankwaso’s Daughter Married To Kano Governor Abba Yusuf Files For Divorce In Abuja Court, Offers To Refund Dowry

Zainab Musa Kwankwaso, the second wife of Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and daughter of prominent politician Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, has filed for divorce at the Upper Area Court sitting in Gudu, Abuja, according to a report from Daily Nigerian.

According to the court filings, a civil summon with reference number CV/97/26 has been issued, ordering the governor to appear before the court on November 17, 2026.

The legal move follows months of escalating political estrangement between Governor Yusuf and his political godfather-turned-father-in-law, which sources indicate has severely strained their marital union.

Details show that Zainab left the Kano Government House on October 28 and relocated to her father’s residence on Miller Road before taking a flight to Abuja without her police orderlies and security escorts.

The departure triggered high-level security scrutiny, leading to the brief detention and questioning of security details attached to her quarters and her father’s residence by the Kano State Police Command. Relatives, including her elder sister and brother Ado Kwankwaso, were also invited by the police amid allegations surrounding her exit.

In her particulars of claim before the court, Zainab cited a complete breakdown of the marriage, stating that it had been characterized by a persistent lack of reciprocal care, love, affection, and emotional connection.

She informed the court that she had lost all affection for the governor, developed a deep-seated aversion to the union, and feared that continuing the marriage would prevent her from observing the obligations prescribed by Islamic law.

Stating that all reconciliation efforts had failed, Zainab is seeking the dissolution of the marriage through khul’i—an Islamic legal procedure allowing a wife to obtain separation by offering compensation or a refund of the original dowry paid by the husband.

Efforts to obtain a comment from the Kano State Commissioner for Information, Sanusi Dawakin Tofa, were unsuccessful as he did not respond to phone calls and text messages.