The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, has summoned the chief judges of the federal high court and the Kano State judiciary over conflicting court orders issued on the Kano emirate tussle.
The Director of Information of the National Judicial Council, Soji Oye, confirmed the invitation to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) also demanded an investigation into the conflicting court orders on the Kano emirate throne tussle between the reinstated emir, Muhammadu Sanusi, and Ado Bayero, who was deposed by the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, last week.
The NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau, called on the respective heads of the courts to investigate the judges’ conduct and report their findings to the NJC for necessary actions.
The NBA President decried the embarrassing conduct of the counsel and judges involved, stating it had brought utter disgrace and shame to the legal profession. He called for scrutiny of their professional conduct.
Worried by the tension of the conflicting orders, the Kano State Government has banned protests and public gatherings related to the emirate tussle, threatening to arrest and prosecute violators.
Background
In 2019 when the then Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje dethroned the long-reigning Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, after a long-running feud. Ganduje accused Sanusi of insubordination and alleged he misappropriated funds from the emirate council. Sanusi denied the allegations.
Sanusi’s dethronement was initially upheld by a state high court, but he subsequently appealed. In March 2022, an appeals court overturned the previous ruling, reinstating Sanusi as the Emir of Kano.
However, shortly after taking office in May 2023, the new Kano Governor Abba Yusuf signed a new law abolishing the Kano emirate kingship structure put in place by his predecessor Ganduje.
The law scrapped the four additional emirates of Bichi, Rano, Gaya and Karaye that had been created, leaving just the Kano emirate headed by Sanusi.
The move effectively deposed Aminu Ado Bayero, whom Ganduje had appointed as the new Emir of Kano after removing Sanusi in 2019. It reinstated Sanusi to the singular Kano emirate throne.
The aftermath of the removal of Bayero and the four emirs of Bichi, Rano, Gaya and Karaye, four contrary rulings had been handed down by three judges on the Kano emirate crisis.
On May 26th, Justice Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court in Kano issued an order restraining the Kano State government from implementing the new emirate law that dethroned the four emirs. However, Governor Yusuf rejected this ruling.
On May 29th, Justice Amina Aliyu of the Kano State High Court issued an interim order restraining the deposed Emir Bayero and the four other former emirs from parading themselves as traditional rulers pending determination of a suit by the state government.
The next day on May 30th, Justice S. Amobeda of the Federal High Court ordered the Inspector General of Police and Kano Commissioner of Police to ensure Bayero’s rights as Emir were protected and to evict Sanusi from the palace.
However, later that same day, Justice Aliyu issued a separate order restraining security forces from evicting Sanusi from the palace pending the suits before her court.
