By Our Reporter
In a split ruling of two justices to one, the Court of Appeal in Abuja has prohibited the Federal High Court in Kano from hearing the legal case concerning the Kano Emirate dispute.
The appellate court determined that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction over the matter, which it ruled should be handled exclusively by the Kano High Court.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Gabriel Kolawole stated that the Federal High Court had no role in chieftaincy matters and ordered the case to be transferred back to the Kano High Court, which has the proper jurisdiction.
Both Presiding Justice Mustapha Mohammed and another Justice agreed with Kolawole’s position regarding the Federal High Court’s lack of jurisdiction. However, they disagreed with his recommendation that the case be referred to the Kano Chief Judge for reassignment. Instead, they ruled that the correct course of action was to strike out the case entirely.
As a result, the two justices ordered the proceedings before the Federal High Court to be dismissed, citing the court’s lack of jurisdiction to have entertained the case in the first place.
In May 2024, Governor Abba Yusuf reinstated Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano, following the passage of a new law by the Kano State House of Assembly that annulled the four additional emirates established under the leadership of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje in 2019.
The new law abolished the emirates created by Ganduje’s administration, restoring Sanusi Lamido as the Emir of Kano. This followed a prior rift between Ganduje and Sanusi, which led to the 2019 law splitting the Kano Emirate into five: Rano, Karaye, Gaya, and Bichi, and enabling the appointment of first-class emirs for the newly created emirates, eventually resulting in Sanusi’s deposition.