Supreme Court To Hear Kano Emirate Appeal April 19 2027

The Supreme Court has fixed April 19, 2027, for the hearing of the appeal in the the Kano emirate tussle between Mohammadu Sanusi II and Aminu Bayero.

During the sitting, Monday, the court heard preliminary arguments from the parties involved in the dispute before announcing an adjournment.

In March 2020, Abdullahi Ganduje, former governor of Kano, deposed Sanusi as Emir of Kano “for total disrespect to lawful instructions from the office of the governor”.

However, on May 23, 2024, the Kano House of Assembly passed the amended Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Bill 2024, which Abba Yusuf, governor of the state, signed into law.

The law repealed the 2019 version, which divided the Kano emirate into five jurisdictions and was relied upon to dethrone Sanusi as Emir of Kano.

On the same day, Sanusi was reinstated as Emir of Kano by the kingmakers and the governor.

On May 23, Justice Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court, Kano, ordered the defendants to “suspend” and “not give effect to the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law, 2024, as they affect all offices and institutions of the Emirate Council created according to the provisions of the Kano State Emirate Council Law, 2019.”

Although the defendants had challenged the court’s jurisdiction to hear the suit and the locus standi of the applicants, Liman on June 13, 2024, held that the applicants were at liberty to contest the legality of their dethronement.

In another ruling on June 20, Liman nullified all actions by the Kano state government repealing the Kano Emirates Council Law of 2019 and ordered parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the case.

However, in a verdict on January 10, 2025, the appellate court ruled that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to handle the case, as it pertained to chieftaincy matters rather than the violation of fundamental human rights, as claimed by the plaintiffs.

Gabriel Kolawole, who delivered the lead judgement, held that the federal high court erred when it assumed the jurisdiction to hear the suit.

Kolawole then ordered that the case file be returned to the chief judge of the Kano state high court for reassignment to another judge.