Zainab Musa Kwankwaso, the second wife of Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, has initiated legal proceedings to end their 20-year-old marriage.
According to a report by *DAILY NIGERIAN*, Zainab filed the case at the Upper Area Court in Gudu, Abuja, seeking dissolution of the marriage through khul’i, an Islamic legal process that allows a woman to seek divorce, usually by offering to return the dowry.
The civil summons, with reference number CV/97/26, reportedly summons Governor Yusuf to appear before the court on November 17, 2026.
DAILY NIGERIAN reported that the couple married on July 29, 2006, and have six children together.
Details from the court documents cited by the publication indicate that Zainab wants the marriage terminated because of what she described as loss of love and emotional attachment, alongside prolonged absence of affection and mutual care.
She reportedly told the court that her feelings towards the governor had changed to the extent that she no longer wished to remain in the relationship, and that attempts to resolve their differences had not yielded the desired result.
As part of the process, she is said to have expressed readiness to return the dowry received during the marriage.
DAILY NIGERIAN also reported that Zainab left the Kano Government House for Abuja on October 28 after visiting her father’s residence on Miller Road in Kano.
The publication, quoting sources, claimed she travelled without her police orderly and other security personnel attached to her, and that her orderly raised an alarm after discovering her departure.
It further alleged that airport security officials initially received instructions to stop her from boarding her flight but later allowed her to travel to prevent a possible confrontation.
The report also claimed that some security operatives attached to the residences of Governor Yusuf and Senator Kwankwaso were arrested, questioned and subsequently released, while Zainab’s elder sister and brother, Ado Kwankwaso, were invited for questioning over allegations that they helped facilitate her journey to Abuja.
These claims surrounding her departure and the alleged police actions have not been independently confirmed.
The marital development follows the political separation between Governor Yusuf and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Zainab’s father, who was instrumental in Yusuf’s emergence as governor.
Relations between the two reportedly deteriorated after Yusuf left the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), under which he won the 2023 governorship election, and defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
