Zainab Musa Kwankwaso, the second wife of Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has approached an Abuja court seeking the dissolution of her 20-year marriage to the governor, offering to refund the dowry paid at their wedding.
Zainab, a daughter of former Kano State governor and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, reportedly instituted divorce proceedings at the Upper Area Court in Gudu, Abuja.
According to reports published on Saturday by Daily Nigerian and Daily Post, the suit, marked CV/97/26, has resulted in a court summons directing Governor Yusuf to appear before it on November 17, 2026.
The couple married on July 29, 2006, when Zainab was reportedly serving as an aide to her father. Their marriage produced six children.
Daily Nigerian, citing court documents, reported that Zainab was seeking the dissolution of the marriage through khul’i, an Islamic procedure that allows a woman to seek separation from her husband, usually by returning the dowry or offering compensation.
In her court filing, she reportedly cited an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, alleging a prolonged absence of mutual care, affection and emotional connection.
She also reportedly told the court that her feelings towards the governor had changed and that efforts to reconcile the couple had failed.
Zainab further expressed concern that remaining in the marriage could affect her ability to fulfil the obligations prescribed for a wife under Islamic law.
The divorce proceedings come amid a reported political disagreement between Governor Yusuf and his father-in-law, Kwankwaso, following the governor’s defection from the New Nigeria Peoples Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The political relationship between the two men has deteriorated since the defection, having previously enjoyed a close political alliance that contributed to Yusuf’s emergence as governor in 2023.
Daily Nigerian also reported that Zainab moved out of the Kano Government House on October 28 and relocated to her father’s residence in Kano before travelling to Abuja.
The governor had yet to publicly comment on the reported divorce proceedings as of the time of filing this report.
