The Court of Appeal stops the restoration of Emir Sanusi

On Friday the Abuja court of appeal stopped the reintegration of Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II as Emir of Kano.

A group of judges of three members led by the judge Okon Abang unanimously stopped the implementation of the judgment of January 10, who left the cancellation of the appointment of Sanusi II by a high court of the State of Kano, which he held was made without jurisdiction.

The sentence, which was issued by the judge Gabriel Kolawole, said that the cancellation of the appointment of Sanusi II was made without the jurisdiction required and ordered the transfer of the case to the high court of the State of Kano.

However, in search of new questions with ca/kn/27m/2025 numbers and Ca/Kn/28m/2025, the Court of Appeal has agreed that the questions that try to stop the application of the previous sentence pending the appeal before the Supreme Court were competent and deserved.

“The law is resolved. The Court is able to exercise his discretion with judgment and in the interest of justice, “he said.

Judge Abang also observed that the topic before the Court had to be preserved because the applicant had been Emir for five years before his removal, adding that he deserved the right to protection.

On January 10, judge Kolawole, freely with the order against the appointment of Sanusi II, considered that the question, being a dispute of Chieftancy, should have been determined by the high court of the State of Kano rather than by the high federal court, which described as “a serious mistake”.

The High Federal Court of Kano, chaired by judge Abubakar Liman, had on 20 June 2024, canceled the law of the Kano Emirates Council (Abboe) of the government of the State of Kano, who restored Muhammadu Sanusi II as a sixteenth Emir.

In the fundamental case for the application of the rights of Aminu Baba-Dan’Agundi, the chair judge further directed the direct parties, including the Kano State House of Assembly, to maintain the status quo during the reign of Emir Ado Bayero.

However, the Court of Appeal in its sentence cited section 251 of the Nigerian Constitution and Section 22 (2) of the federal law of the Upper Court to believe that the question was a state legal and legislative dispute and not a matter of fundamental rights, and such should have been taken before the high court of the State of Kano or the high court of the FCT.

“The adequate order to issue is to order to the 1st interviewed (Baba-Dan’Agundi) to transfer the outstanding case before the High Federal Court to the High Court of the State of Kano, where the chief judge will assign him to a judge who has not been previously involved in the hearing of the case,” he said.

The judge assigned the cost of N500,000 against Dan’Agundi and favor of the Kano State Assembly House.

However, following the opinions of the chasm justice, judge Mohammed Mustapha and judge Abdul Dogo that the right order was to eliminate the cause of Dan’Agundi presented to the Federal Court and not to transfer the same, the question had been eliminated.

The five appeals – Ca/Kn/126/2024 between the State Assembly and Dan’Agundi; Ca/Abj/140/2023 State Assembly and Dan’Agundi; Ca/Abj/142/2024 Kano State Government and Dan’Agundi; Ca/Kn/Kn/200/2024 Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero and Liciere General della Kano Stato; and Ca/Kn/161/2020 kano government and Dan’gundi issued from the same question before the Federal Court

[Daily Trust]

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