The Court of Appeal in Abuja has halted Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II’s reinstatement as the Emir of Kano.
A three-member panel of justices led by Justice Okon Abang on Friday unanimously halted the implementation of the January 10 judgement. The judgement vacated the nullification of Sanusi II’s appointment by a Kano State High Court, which it held was done without jurisdiction.
The judgement, delivered by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, held that the nullification of Sanusi II’s appointment was done without the required jurisdiction and ordered the transfer of the suit to the Kano State High Court.
However, ruling on the fresh applications with numbers CA/KN/27M/2025 and CA/KN/28M/2025, the appellate court agreed that the applications seeking to halt the enforcement of the earlier judgement pending the appeal before the Supreme Court were competent and meritorious.
“The law is settled. The court is enjoined to exercise its discretion judiciously and in the interest of justice,” he said.
Justice Abang also noted that the subject matter before the court needs to be preserved because the applicant had served as emir for five years before his removal, adding that he deserved the right to protection.
On January 10, Justice Kolawole, in vacating the order against Sanusi II’s appointment, held that the matter, being a chieftaincy dispute, ought to have been determined by the high court of Kano State rather than the Federal High Court, which he described as “a grave error”.
The Federal High Court in Kano, presided by Justice Abubakar Liman, had on June 20, 2024, nullified the Kano State Government’s Kano Emirates Council (Repeal) Law 2024, which reinstated Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir.
In Aminu Baba-Dan’Agundi’s fundamental rights enforcement suit, the presiding judge further directed parties, including the Kano State House of Assembly, to maintain the status quo during Emir Ado Bayero’s reign.
