Emir of Kano: Appeal court overturns order against Ado-Bayero

Emir of Kano: Appeal court overturns order against Ado-Bayero

The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal has set aside the injunctive order of the Kano State High Court stopping Aminu Ado-Bayero, the 15th Emir of Kano and four other dethroned emirs of Bichi, Rano, Gaya and Karaye from parading themselves as traditional rulers.

Consecutively, the appellate court in a unanimous Judgment on Friday, ordered a fresh hearing into the Kano Emirate legal dispute between Alhaji Ado Bayero and Muhammadu Sanusi.

The Court further directed the Chief Judge of the Kano State High Court to reassign the case to a different judge for a fresh hearing, emphasizing the need for impartial adjudication.

In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a three-member panel of justice led by Mohammed Mustapha held that the July 15, 2024 ruling of the lower court was legally flawed and violated the principles of fair hearing.

The appellate court criticized the Kano State High Court’s handling of the matter, stating that its ruling was both procedurally and substantively compromised.

The court held that the lower court’s decision undermined the integrity of the judicial process and necessitated intervention to uphold justice.

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Justice Mustapha stated the legal processes that gave rise to the injunctive order were fundamentally tainted by breaches of fair hearing which are deemed significant enough to warrant setting aside the earlier ruling.

The Kano State Emirate legal dispute has witnessed a flurry of conflicting court decisions supporting opposing claims to the Kano emirate throne.

It all began in 2024 when Governor Abba Yusuf  of Kano State signed a new law culminating in the reinstatement of the formerly deposed Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi.

The implementation of the new law saw the dissolution of the four other emirate councils of Gaya, Karaye, Rano, and Bichi created by the previous administration of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, merging them into a single Kano emirate, as it had originally existed.

Consequently, Governor Yusuf dethroned the emirs of the four emirates and Aminu Ado-Bayero, who had ascended the throne following the dethronement of Mr Sanusi in March 2020 by the then-Governor Ganduje.

This development triggered a series of conflicting court orders, with rulings favoring both sides in the dispute over the Kano Emirate throne.

Meanwhile in another separate appeal, the appellate Court in a split decision of two Justices to one, has barred the Kano division of the Federal High Court from adjudicating over the Kano Emirate legal battle.

The appellate court held that the court lacked the jurisdiction to dabble into the Kano State Chieftaincy Matters on the ground that such a case can only be determined by the Kano High Court.

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Justice Gabriel Kolawole, who delivered the lead judgment,  held that the Federal High Court has no business adjudicating over the chieftaincy matters but ordered that the matter be returned to the Kano state high court, being the proper court for such matters.

The Presiding Justice, Mustapha Mohammed and another Justice agreed with Justice Kolawole that the federal high court has no jurisdiction to go into the Kano emirate legal battle.

They however disagreed with him that the case be returned to the Kano Chief Judge for reassignment to a Judge of the State High Court.

Instead, the two Justices held that the proper order to be made was for striking out of the case and not remittance.

Consequently, the two justices struck out the proceedings of the Federal High Court on the ground that it had no jurisdiction to have dabbled into the matter in the first instance.

A Federal High Court in Kano presided over by Justice Abdullahi Liman, nullified Governor Abba Yusuf’s action of deposing Emir Ado Bayero and appointing Muhammadu Sanusi II on May 23.

The court also held as “null and void” the Kano Emirate Council (Repeal) Bill, 2024 passed by the Kano State House of Assembly, which voided Bayero’s seat. 

The judge said, “The above action violates the order of this court earlier stated,” adding “The balance of convenience is on the applicant herein (Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan Agundi) herein.”  This was as another Kano State High Court barred Ado Bayero from parading himself as emir.

 

Emir of Kano: Appeal court overturns order against Ado-Bayero