Kano Throne: Emir Sanusi Wins As Appeal Court Overturns Justice Liman’s Verdict
The Abuja Division Court of Appeal on Friday overturned the ruling of the Kano Division Federal High Court on the appointment of Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II.
In an appeal by the Kano State government in the Emirate matter, the Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling that questioned Sanusi’s appointment as the 16th Emir of Kano State.
In a ruling by a three-judge panel led by Justice Mohammed Mustapha, the appeals court argued that the Federal High Court overstepped its jurisdiction by ruling on a matter it had no jurisdiction to address.
The lower court had invalidated the government’s appointment of Sanusi as First Chief in response to an application filed by Aminu Baba Dan Agundi, a member of the Emirate Council under former Emir Aminu Ado Bayero, before Justice Abdullahi Liman of the Federal High Court in Kano, seeking to enforce his fundamental rights.
Dan Agundi had argued that the removal of Emir Bayero and the dissolution of the five emirates under Law 2023, which abolished the Emirate Council, violated his fundamental rights. The Court of Appeals, however, invalidated Judge Liman’s ruling, holding that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction over the emirate.
The court held that the trial court did not have the authority to order the status quo to be maintained in a matter beyond its jurisdiction, and invalidated the controversial ruling that effectively left two emirs in Kano. In addition to the improper exercise of jurisdiction, the Court of Appeals found that Judge Liman exceeded his role by intervening in the emirate issue outside the fundamental rights sought by the plaintiffs.
The Court of Appeals declared that the Federal High Court had no jurisdiction to intervene in matters relating to the Kano State Chiefs’ Council Act. It emphasized that the primary relief sought by Bayero did not fall within the scope of fundamental human rights, but instead related to the issue of emirate.
The court cited Article 251 of the Nigerian Constitution and affirmed that the Federal High Court has no jurisdiction to deal with issues related to the chieftaincy. In a similar case, the Court of Appeals reversed the ruling of Justice Amina Aliyu of the Kano State High Court and ordered a rehearing before a Kano State judge.
The earlier ruling was deemed to be a permanent restriction on the ad bailero being a chief and a violation of the basic principle of fair hearing. Justice Aliyu of the Kano High Court had earlier ruled in favor of the Kano State Assembly, which had sought to pass a law abolishing the Kano Emirate Council.
The law would have removed Bayero and four others and upheld Sanusi’s appointment as the 16th Emir of Kano. The ruling does not change the fact that the 16th Emir of Kano, His Highness King Muhammad Sanusi II, is the legitimate ruler of the Kano throne.
Didactic Information Hut recalls that on May 3, 2024, Governor Abba Yusuf had reinstated him after agreeing to the Kano Emir Abolition Law enacted by the Kano State Assembly led by Speaker Jibrin Falgore.
