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The Court of Appeal in Abuja has halted the enforcement of its own ruling that upheld the Kano State Government’s repeal of the 2019 Emirate Council Law.
This decision will remain in place until the Supreme Court rules on the matter.
Earlier, the Court of Appeal in Kano overturned a June 20 order by Justice Abubakar Liman of the Federal High Court, which had nullified actions taken by the Kano State Government under the 2024 Emirate Council (Repeal) Law.
These actions included the reappointment of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano.
The appellate court ruled that Justice Liman’s decision was made without jurisdiction. However, the Kano State Government, dissatisfied with the judgment, appealed to the Supreme Court and requested an injunction to delay the enforcement of the ruling until the appeal was decided.
On Friday, a three-member panel led by Justice Okon Abang granted the injunction in two cases.
The appeal was filed by Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan against the Kano State Government, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Inspector General of Police, and other security agencies.
Alhaji Aminu Baba, who served as an emir before his removal, had sought a court order preventing the enforcement of the appellate court’s judgment while the case was still pending at the Supreme Court.
He argued that the repeal law dissolved the newly created emirates and reinstated Sanusi, but also claimed his fundamental rights needed protection.
In a unanimous ruling, Justice Abang stated that the application was valid and deserved the court’s discretion in the interest of justice. He ordered that the previous state of affairs before the trial court’s ruling on June 13, 2024 should be maintained.
The ruling restrains the respondents from implementing the January 10 judgment, which had nullified the Kano State Government’s dissolution of the emirates.
The court also ruled that the status quo should be preserved until the Supreme Court gives a final decision.
Additionally, the applicant must file an undertaking within 14 days to compensate the respondents for damages if the injunction was later found unnecessary.
The Court of Appeal had previously ruled that chieftaincy matters fall under state high courts, not federal high courts, making the Federal High Court’s ruling invalid. Now, the fate of the Kano Emirate awaits the Supreme Court’s final verdict.
