The Court of Appeal in Abuja has stopped the reinstatement of Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano.
On Friday, a three-member panel of justices led by Justice Okon Abang unanimously delayed the implementation of the January 10 decision, which vacated the nullification of Sanusi II’s appointment by a Kano State High Court, which it ruled was made without authority.
The judgement, delivered by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, concluded that the nullification of Sanusi II’s appointment was done without the necessary jurisdiction and directed that the suit be transferred to the Kano State High Court.
However, in ruling on the fresh applications CA/KN/27M/2025 and CA/KN/28M/2025, the appellate court recognised that the applications seeking to postpone the enforcement of the earlier judgement pending the Supreme Court appeal were competent and meritorious.
“The law is settled. The court is enjoined to exercise its discretion judiciously and in the interest of justice,” Justice Abang said.
He further stated that the subject matter before the court must be preserved because the applicant served as emir for five years before being removed and that he earned the right to protection.
On January 10, Justice Kolawole vacated the decision against Sanusi II’s appointment, ruling that the matter, as a chieftaincy dispute, should have been decided by Kano State’s high court rather than the Federal High Court, which he termed as “a grave error.”
On June 20, 2024, the Federal High Court in Kano, presided over by Justice Abubakar Liman, struck down the Kano State Government’s Kano Emirates Council (Repeal) Law 2024, which reinstalled Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir.
In Aminu Baba-Dan’Agundi’s fundamental rights enforcement suit, the presiding court further ordered parties, including the Kano State House of Assembly, to maintain the status quo under the reign of Emir Ado Bayero.
However, the appellate court in its ruling cited Section 251 of the Nigerian Constitution and Section 22(2) of the Federal High Court Act to hold that the matter was a chieftaincy and state legislative dispute, not a fundamental rights matter, and as such ought to have been taken before the Kano State High Court or the FCT High Court.
The judge ruled in favour of the Kano State House of Assembly and ordered Dan’Agundi to pay N500,000 in costs.
However, the action was dismissed after the presiding justices, Justice Mohammed Mustapha and Justice Abdul Dogo, determined that the correct order was to strike out Dan’Agundi’s petition filed in the Federal High Court rather than transfer it.
The five appeals, CA/KN/126/2024 between the state assembly and Dan’Agundi, CA/ABJ/140/2023 between the state assembly and Dan’Agundi, CA/ABJ/142/2024 between the Kano State Government and Dan’Agundi, CA/KN/200/2024 between Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero and the Attorney General of Kano State, and CA/KN/161/2020 between the Kano Government and Dan’Agundi, all stemmed from the same issue before the Federal High Court.
