A three-member panel of the appellate court, delivering its judgment in Abuja, nullified the June 20, 2024, decision of Justice Abubakar Liman of the Federal High Court, which invalidated the Kano State Emirates Council (Repeal) Law 2024 that facilitated Sanusi’s reappointment.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The appellate court held that Justice Liman lacked the jurisdiction to nullify the steps taken by the Kano State Government pursuant to the 2024 Emirates Council Law. It stated that the fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by aggrieved kingmaker Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan Agundi, which the high court judge relied upon to issue the order, was incompetent.
The appellate court maintained that the originating suit, not instituted through proper legal processes, deprived the high court of the jurisdiction needed to hear the case. It should be recalled that the Kano State House of Assembly had, on May 23 of the previous year, enacted the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024, which was assented to by Governor Abba Yusuf on the same date.
Following the enactment of the law, Governor Yusuf deposed the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, and reverted the emirates of Bichi, Rano, Gaya, and Karaye to district heads, following the collapse of these emirates into the Kano Emirate.
Similarly, Governor Yusuf reappointed the 14th Emir of Kano, Sanusi II, who was deposed in 2020 by his predecessor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, who had previously enacted the law dividing Kano emirates into five.
However, dissatisfied with Sanusi’s reappointment as the head of the united emirates in Kano State, Alhaji Agundi, a kingmaker and Sarkin Dawaki Babba under the divided emirates, approached the court and secured an order to maintain the status quo, allowing the deposed 15th Emir, Bayero, to remain on the throne. Justice Liman upheld Alhaji Agundi’s case, declaring the actions taken by Governor Yusuf null and void, a decision that was overturned by the appellate court.
The appellate court panel, led by Justice Mohammed Mustapha, emphasized that while Section 46(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution grants the high court the jurisdiction to entertain fundamental rights enforcement cases, Alhaji Agundi’s suit did not fall within that scope. It noted that the core of the plaintiff’s case was a chieftaincy-related issue, as his contention was that the actions of the Kano State Government would impact his position as a kingmaker and strip his place of emirate status.
