Yesterday, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, overruled the verdict of the Federal High Court, Kano Division, over the appointment of the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II.
In the Kano State Government’s appeal on the chieftaincy issue, the appellate court overturned the lower court’s decision, which had questioned Sanusi’s appointment as the 16th Emir of Kano.
In a judgment delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Mustapha, the appellate court insisted that the Federal High Court had overstepped its jurisdiction by ruling on a matter it was not authorised to handle.
The lower court had nullified the government’s appointment of Sanusi as a first-class emir in response to an application for the enforcement of fundamental rights brought before Justice Abdullahi Liman of the Kano Federal High Court by Aminu Babba Dan’Agundi, a member of the emirate council under the former emir, Aminu Ado Bayero.
Dan’Agundi had argued that the sacking of Bayero and the dissolution of the five emirates through the new Emirate Council Repeal Law 2023, without due consultation, had infringed on his fundamental rights.
However, the appellate court voided Justice Liman’s judgment, noting that the Federal High Court had no jurisdiction over chieftaincy matters.
The court ruled that the trial court lacked the authority to order the maintenance of the status quo in a matter beyond its jurisdiction, thereby setting aside the controversial ruling that effectively left Kano with two ruling emirs.
With this judgment, the 16th Emir of Kano, His Highness Dr. Muhammadu Sanusi II, remains the legitimate ruler of the Kano throne. He was reinstated by Governor Abba Yusuf on May 3, 2024, after assenting to the Kano Emirates Repeal Law enacted by the Kano State House of Assembly under Speaker, Jibrin Falgore.
