By John C. Azu, Abbas Jimoh (Abuja), Datti Ahmad & Salim U. Ibrahim, (Kano)
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, yesterday summoned the Chief Judges of the Federal High Court and the Kano State High Court, Justices John Tsoho and Dije Aboki respectively for delivering conflicting judgements in the Kano emirate dispute.
The Director of Information of the National Judicial Council, Soji Oye, confirmed this to journalists in Abuja.
Muhammadu Sanusi II and Aminu Ado Bayero, the 15th Emir of Kano, are laying claims to the stool.
Sanusi had been reinstated by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf following the abolition of the law used by former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to depose him in 2020.
Upon Bayero’s return to Kano and his residence at Nassarawa Palace, Governor Yusuf ordered his arrest, citing concerns about escalating tension in the state.
This led to the deployment of troops to the Nassarawa Palace.
The crisis took a new dimension when both camps obtained injunctions favourable to them, sparking confusion in the state.
The summons by the CJN followed the conflicting court orders, which were delivered on May 24, 27 and 28 respectively.
In the first order, Justice Abdullahi M. Liman restrained the Kano State government from implementing the new emirate law under which Sanusi was reinstated as the Emir of Kano.
The second order was issued by Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu of the Kano State High Court directing the protection of Sanusi from harassment by authorities.
The third order was issued by another Federal High Court presided over by Justice S. A. Amobeda directing the eviction of Sanusi from the Gidan Rumfa palace.
NBA to sanction lawyers
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), yesterday expressed his determination to identify and investigate lawyers involved in the conflicting orders issued over the Kano emirate dispute.
Maikyau, according to a statement by the NBA’s Publicity Secretary, Akorede Lawal, said the orders had brought utter disgrace and shame to the profession and exposed the entire legal profession in Nigeria to public ridicule and opprobrium.
He said the NBA might never recover from this.
Maikyau said, “Without prejudice to the subsisting actions before both the Federal High Court and the Kano State High Court, it is my considered view that there is an urgent need to scrutinise the professional conducts of both counsel and the judges involved in these matters.
“This is to enable the relevant bodies or institutions to determine their culpability or, otherwise, from an ethical and professional standpoint.”
He urged the respective heads of the courts of the judges concerned to look into their conduct with the view to finding any possible abuse of their judicial offices and file a report with the National Judicial Council for necessary action.
As regards the lawyers involved, Maikyau assured that the NBA would investigate the conduct of the counsel involved in these cases and shall not hesitate to commence disciplinary action against them before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, should there be any finding of alleged professional misconduct against them.
Gov Yusuf bans protests
Earlier yesterday, the Kano State government imposed stringent restrictions on all public gatherings intended for protest.
Governor Yusuf’s spokesperson, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, said his boss directed the police, the Department of State Services, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to apprehend, detain and prosecute any individual or group protesting in Kano.
He said: “This decisive action is a pre-emptive strategy aimed at averting any potential breakdown of law and order orchestrated by adversaries of the state.
“We are privy to credible intelligence indicating that certain prominent figures from the opposition party in Kano have devised plans to sponsor student associations and political agitators from other north-western states to incite chaos under the guise of advocating for the dethroned Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero.”
Police officers deployed in flashpoints
The Kano State Police Command said it had heightened its security presence to identify flashpoints in and around the metropolis to tackle any potential security threats in the state.
The Commissioner of Police, Usaini Gumel, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday.
Gumel said: “Equipped and armed personnel have been deployed to handle any unforeseen circumstances around the identified areas.
“The state government’s order banning all protests would be strictly enforced with vigour, adding that anyone found participating would be arrested and prosecuted”.
NSCIA cautions ulama against unguarded comments
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) yesterday decried the contradictory statements emanating from some quarters of the Ulama in Kano State concerning the emirate tussle in the state.
The Deputy Secretary-General of NSCIA, Prof. Salisu Shehu, in a statement, said, “At this trying period for the ummah, the council calls on Islamic scholars, who are custodians of Islamic learning, values and guidance, to exercise caution and refrain from making statements that can further exacerbate tension and polarise the ummah.
“Ulama within and outside the state should prayerfully allow the current traditional leadership conflict in Kano, to be handled and resolved by the political, judicial and customary authorities.”
The council urged Kano’s political, traditional and judicial authorities to resolve the current issue with the fear of Allah, fairness and justice.
Reverse emirate law, Kano South elders tell Gov Yusuf
The Kano South Elders Forum have called on Governor Yusuf to urgently reverse the decision on the Kano Emirate Law, which they said had hindered progress and development in the region.
At a news conference in Kano yesterday, the forum’s chairman, Alhaji Musa Doguwa, said the creation of the new emirates brought about urbanisation, infrastructure expansion and prosperity to the affected areas.
He said the disbanded emirates have a rich historical background and represent a significant percentage of Kano State.
Doguwa commended some members of the Kano State House of Assembly for their support and urged others to align with them.
Monarch writes Tinubu over Kano emirate tussle
King Appolus Chu, OFR, Onch-Eh Nchia X Eleme Kingdom, Rivers State and chairman of the interface committee between the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria and the National Assembly on Constitutional Amendment has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in the Kano emirate dispute.
In a letter addressed to the president, the king said: “The stool of the Emir of Kano predates colonialism and the creation of the Nigerian state. Such a revered stool isn’t something that can easily be tampered with without the fear of a breakdown of law and order.
“The situation of Kano can be described as a pot tittering on the edge of toppling over, if politicians do not stop toying with the throne of the Kano emirate.
“The case in Kano is a situation where political officeholders are beginning to politicise the traditional institution and our ancient stools, thereby taking away the glory, honour, beauty and prestige of our traditional stools, consequently eroding the respect the people have for our traditional stools as well as the control and influence the stools have over the people.
“We have had situations in this country where crises have erupted, lives and properties lost as a result of the people’s anger over the perceived maltreatment of their leaders. The situation in Kano must not be allowed to tow that same path.
“Given that there is already a court order asking all parties involved in the Emir of Kano saga to maintain the status quo ante, I urge the presidency to advise all the parties involved to respect the court order, knowing that the party that approached the court did so to maintain peace in Kano.”
