There is a new drama in the Kano Emirate leadership tussle as the Court of Appeal in Abuja ordered a restraint in the enforcement of its judgment, which upheld the 2019 Emirate Council Repeal Law by the Kano State government, delivered on January 10.
The court had ordered a restraint pending the determination of an appeal, which was before the Supreme Court.
The Court of Appeal in Kano set aside the ruling of Justice Abubakar Liman of the Federal High Court, delivered on June 20. It nullified the steps and actions taken by the Kano government in pursuing the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024. The judgment included the appointment of Muhammadu Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano.
The Kano Court of Appeal, which sat in Abuja, held that the order nullified the action of the state government under the 2024 Emirate Council Law, which was delivered by Justice Liman without jurisdiction.
Following the ruling, the case was appealed at the Supreme Court by the Kano State Government and at the same time, filed an injunction at the Court of Appeal for a stay of execution of the judgment, pending the Supreme Court judgment on the appeal.
Ruling on the injunction on Friday by a three-member panel of justices led by Justice Okon Abang in two suits marked CA/KN/27M/2025 and CA/KN/28M/2025, filed by Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan.
The appeal was brought against the Kano State Government, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Inspector General of Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and other security agencies.
Aminu Baba Dan (Sarkin Dawaki Babba), through its application filed on February 6, 2025, sought an order restraining the respondents from enforcing the appellate court’s judgment while an appeal was pending at the Supreme Court.
Additionally, the applicant argued that the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024, which was passed by the state legislature and assented to by the governor, legally led to the dissolution of the newly created emirates and the reinstatement of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano.
In a unanimous ruling, the three-member panel of Justices led by Abang held that the application was meritorious and deserving of the court’s discretion in the interest of justice.
