By Tijjani Yahaya Esq.
Following the sitting of the Court of Appeal, Abuja over the hearing of the application for stay of execution filed by Aminu Babba Dan’Agundi and the subsequent order of the Court granting the same, there were a series of various headlines and captions to the effect that the Court of Appeal has halted or stopped or blocked the reinstatement of Sanusi as the Emir of Kano by the Kano State Government pending the hearing of the appeal filed by the Kano State Government. All these captions however were misleading and don’t actually relay the correct position and purport of the order of the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
Aminu Babba Dan’Agundi had earlier on appealed to the Supreme Court against the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Kano delivered on the 10th January, 2025, which judgement upheld the Kano State Government’s repeal of the Kano Emrate Council Law, 2019.
The Court of Appeal, Kano had also earlier on set aside Justce Liman’s order which nullified the steps taken by the Kano State Government under the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law, 2024 pursuant to which Muhammadu Sanusi was appointed as the 16th Emir of Kano.
The Court of Appeal had also ruled that the Federal High Court’s order issued by Justice Liman was outside the court’s jurisdiction as the Federal High Court has no jurisdiction over Chieftancy matters.
Aminu Babba Dan’Agundi’s application for stay of execution is simply therefore the usual routine application for the maintenance of the status quo pending the hearing and determination of a subsisting appeal before the Supreme Court. It is therefore this application that the panel of judges of the Court of Appeal, Abuja heard and decided to grant in their discretion the order of the maintenance of the status quo until after the hearing of the appeal filed before the Supreme Court that was wrongfully reported as an order halting, blocking or stopping the reinstatement of Sanusi as the Emir of Kano. At any rate, the correct position is that there is no any attempt or indeed the need for the reinstatement of Sanusi as the Emir of Kano to be stopped at the moment or indeed anytime in the future as there weren’t any reinstatement to be made.
Secondly, the reports also did not grasp the basis and the purport upon which the order was made neither did they understand the proper context under which it was also made.
Like earlier on stated above, Aminu Babba Dan’Agundi, being dissatisfied with the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Kano which set aside Justice Liman’s order had filed an appeal against the same to the Supreme Court.
The Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf had already appointed Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (Muhammadu Sanusi) as the 16th Emir of Kano and the requisite letter of appointment as such has since been duly issued to him by the Kano State Government and which appointment, following from the setting aside of Justice Liman’s June 20th order by the Court of Appeal , Kano is still subsisting, until otherwise set aside by the Supreme Court, which is the court of last resort and it’s decision will finally put to rest this unwholesome tussle over the Kano Emirship.
Until then, the status quo is therefore that while Muhammadu Sanusi is the duty appointed Emir of Kano pursuant to the Kano Emirate Council (Repeal) Law,2024 , Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero is also claiming to still be the Emir of Kano on the basis of the fact that he is challenging the legality of the repeal of the Kano Emirate Council Law, 2019 by the Kano State Governor and the promulgation of the Kano Emirate Council (Repeal) Law,2024.
The ball is clearly now in the Supreme Court.