A Federal High Court in Kano has issued an interim order stopping the enforcement of the Kano State Emirate Council Repeal Law. The order was granted by Justice Mohammed Liman following an application by Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan Agundi, the Sarkin Dawaki Babba of the Kano Emirate.
The legal documents pertaining to the case have since gone viral. This development follows the recent dissolution of the four newly created emirate councils in Kano State by the Kano State House of Assembly, as reported by PUNCH Online. The dissolution occurred after deliberations during a plenary session.
On Thursday, Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf reappointed Lamido Sanusi as the Emir of Kano, four years after he was dethroned by former Governor Umar Ganduje. Governor Yusuf also deposed five emirs appointed by Ganduje and ordered them to vacate their official residences and palaces within 48 hours, directing them to hand over all affairs to the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
The latest lawsuit concerning the Emir’s seat names several respondents, including the Kano State Government, the House of Assembly, the Speaker, the Attorney-General, the Commissioner of Police, the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the State Security Service.
Justice Liman ruled that all court processes should be served on the Inspector-General of Police in Abuja. The judge's ruling included several key points:
- The parties are ordered to maintain the status quo ante (the previously existing state of affairs) pending the hearing of the fundamental rights application.
- The court set the hearing of the fundamental rights application for June 3, 2024.
- An interim injunction was granted restraining the fifth to eighth respondents (the Commissioner of Police, Inspector-General of Police, NSCDC, and DSS) from enforcing, executing, implementing, or operationalizing the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law.
The repealed law, known as the Kano State Emirs (Appointment and Deposition) Law, had established the Rano, Karaye, Gaya, and Bichi Emirates in addition to Kano. The repeal of this law means these newly created emirates have been dissolved, consolidating the Kano Emirate under a single ruler once again.
