- Northern lawyers insist Gov. Yusuf must apologise to Bayero
Following the recent Federal High Court Judgment on Kano emirate tussle, that voided the appointment of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano and the declaration by the Kano State government that Sanusi remains the emir of Kano, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Lawyers have continued to expressed different views on the verdict.
Justice Abdullahi Liman of the Federal High Court Kano had ruled that the appointment of Sanusi as emir of Kano was null and void because the state government failed to obey the court order restraining it from taking further action on the new emirate council law.
The judge described Governor Abba Yusuf’s speech during the presentation of the reappointment letter to Sanusi as a road to anarchy, saying that if a court order cannot be respected despite evidence of service, then the government was heading to chaos.
He voided all the actions taken by the governor after the court order, including the appointment of Sanusi as emir, and ordered all parties in the case to maintain the status quo.
Lawyer, former university lecturer, oil company executive and ex-non-executive bank director, Vincent Okwechime had thus to say.
“t’s complicated but I can see an intersection point at which one’s fundamental rights may interact and merge with chieftaincy issues, including the lawful right to be appointed an Emir or Oba.
“So for example, where ascension to the throne in Benin is by primogeniture, automatically passing to the eldest son of an Oba, an appointment of the second or third son of a preceding Oba by legislation may raise issues of the right of the entitled first son to inheritance, deprivation of property rights, dignity, self determination, etc.
“The question is whether those rights are separable from the chieftaincy issue and can this be submitted to the Federal High Court for adjudication on that basis? Or whether they are intrinsically linked the chieftaincy dispute and thus inseparable from it that it ought to be litigated in State court!?”
Reacting to the ruling in a statement, the government said: “The Kano State government acknowledges the ruling by the Federal High Court regarding the Kano Emirates Council (Repeal) Law, 2024 and views same as upholding the rule of law.
“By the ruling of the court, it has unequivocally reaffirmed the validity of the law passed by Kano State House of Assembly and assented to by His Excellency the Executive Governor of Kano State on Thursday, May 23, 2024, by 5:10pm.
“This part of the judgment is very fundamental to the entire matter. Further implication of the ruling is that all actions done by the government before the emergence of the interim order of the honourable court are equally validated. This means that the abolishing of the five emirates created in 2019 is validated and the deposition of the five emirs is also sustained by the Federal High Court.
“By implication this means that Muhammadu Sanusi II remains the emir of Kano. The judge also granted our application for the stay of proceedings until the Court of Appeal deals with the appeal before it on jurisdiction.
“Happily, the signing of the law and the reinstatement of His Highness, Emir Muhammad Sanusi II, were done on May 23, 2024, before the emergence of the Interim Order, which was served on us on Monday, May 27, 2024.”
On his part, professor of law, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, maintains that since Sanusi was issued a letter of appointment on May 23 before the judge gave the order and was sworn in on May 24, the claim that he still remains the emir of Kano is valid.
“Sanusi was issued a letter of appointment on May 23 before the incredulous order of the judge. The swearing in was on May 24. The judge says everything after his order is invalid. So, since the letter of appointment was issued before that, it is valid in terms of his order.
“Of course, there is a huge question as to the lawfulness of the entire proceedings. The law being challenged was assented to at 5.10 pm on May 23. At that time, no registry was open anywhere in Nigeria. Where was the case filed and at what time for the judge to have issued an order on May 23?” he queried.
The Executive Director, Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights, Frank Tietie, also argued that the governor was absolved of any offence since the state House of Assembly has amended the emirate law. The amendment, he said, has given legal backing to the action of the governor in reinstating Sanusi.
Again, Mathew Echo, a lawyer, said: “There appears to be a dimension to this given that the Kano State High Court (which is a court with coordinate jurisdiction with the FHC) made a subsisting order recognising the appointment of Sanusi. So, with all this in the mix, it will be absurd to conclude that he is no longer the emir.”
Yet, the National Coalition of Northern Lawyers and Public Interest Activists (NCNLPIA) has described the annulment of the reinstatement of Sanusi II as victory for justice.
The group said the judgment vindicates the popular stance on the illegality of the Kano State government’s actions in dissolving the Kano emirates and dethroning Emir Ado Bayero.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, the convener, Napoleon Otache, commended the court for upholding the rule of law and protecting the sanctity of traditional institutions, adding that the ruling is a victory for justice, truth and the people of Kano State.
The group, therefore, urged the state governor to apologise to Bayero for the humiliation and hardship inflicted upon him due to the unlawful dissolution of the Kano emirates.
Otache advised the governor to respect the court’s decision and work towards peace and reconciliation in Kano State. Otache said: “In nullifying the illegality embarked upon by the Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf and his associates, the court has again proven that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.
“We have been reminded that might is not right and that the will of the people matters in addition to the demonstration that those who are on the right side need not resort to violence to defend their rights.
“The court’s ruling has demonstrated that the rule of law must be obeyed since the defect that led to the nullification of the re-appointment of the 16th Emir resulted from the governor rushing to implement a law that the court had ruled to be placed on hold.
“It is now also clear that rushing to a slew of actions based on illegitimate premises would not make such illegal actions endure. The governor and Muhammadu Sanusi II must have realised by now that all they achieved with the drama they acted amounted to a nullity and a tragic waste of public resources to massage their egos.
“The ruling should be a wake-up call to the Kano State government that it cannot introduce a state-level dictatorship as envisaged by the governor, one that sought to obliterate the constitutionally guaranteed separation of powers among the executive, legislature and judiciary.
“The judiciary has given the rude awakening that it is there to correct the conversion of the Kano State House of Assembly into the rubberstamp factory that churned out destructive legislations to satisfy Governor Yusuf’s whims.
“The National Coalition of Northern Lawyers And Public Interest Activists is of the view that it is time for Governor Yusuf to acknowledge that he has lost the battle in this matter of the Kano Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024.
“Even though it was not the purpose for which he occupied office, he is welcome to continue with the imaginary war he is waging on his perceived enemies, but, this particular battle on the emirate issue is one he must acknowledge is lost.
“We consequently call on the Kano State government not to waste the taxpayers’ resources on frivolous appeals but to continue to work with Emir Ado Bayero as the duly recognised Emir of Kano Emirate Council with his full official paraphernalia of office in the interest of peace and in accordance with the order of the court. We make this call knowing that all other pending legal challenges on the matter would naturally align with the Federal High Court ruling.”
An Abuja based legal practitioner and rights activist, Okueyelegbe S. Maliki, on his part, noted that it is settled in law that a court judgment, no matter how wrongly made, is valid and subsisting until set aside by an appellate court.
Maliki said the remark by the Kano State government that Sanusi remains the emir of Kano was rather hasty. He, therefore, urged the government to take the necessary steps to set aside the judgment before it can legally make such a remark.
A former Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mike Ejiofor, a lawyer, held that it would be wrong for the governor to violate the judgment of a court.
While blaming the judiciary for the role it played in the lingering crisis by issuing orders and counter orders, he urged either of the parties to appeal the judgment for proper interpretation of the latest development.
“Whatever be the problem in Kano State cannot erode the validity of the law that removed the former emir. At the same time, another court granted an order restraining every action. In this case, which one is the status quo? Does that mean that Sanusi should remain or not? So, there is conflict in the judgment that is making it difficult to interpret.
“So, the Kano State government insisting that Sanusi remains in office as emir in spite of the court order is wrong. I believe that the best thing to do is for either of the parties to go on appeal for proper interpretation of the judgment.”
Ejiofor decried the fact that traditional institutions have been completely bastardised and desecrated.
“The traditional institution has been politicised. So, governors do what they like so as to garner support. Most of all these happenings are just political crises and if care is not taken, what is happening in Kano and Rivers States might cause a lot of problems in the country.
“The matter in both states should be properly handled. Our security agencies must be firm and professional in their handling of these two situations otherwise it will escalate and the outcome nobody can predict,” Ejiofor stated.
For the chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section On Public Interest And Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), John Aikpokpo-Martins, all orders of court must be obeyed no matter how erroneous it is or may be.
The immediate past NBA 1st Vice President said the only option left for the Kano State government is to appeal the decision with the aim to set it aside.
“As it is today, Sanusi is not the bonafide Emir of Kano except and until the order of the Federal High Court is vacated,” he said.
Aikpokpo-Martins, however, added: “Personally, I do think that the Federal High Court has no jurisdiction to entertain the case.”
The Kano State chapter of the Northern Awareness Network (NAN) also applauded the ruling.Its chairman, Sani Abubakar, in statement yesterday, said the organisation was satisfied with the court’s decision to dismiss all actions taken by the Kano State government to repeal the Kano Emirates Council Law which was relied upon by the state to dethrone the 15th Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero and four others.
NAN described the ruling as a significant step in restoring honour and integrity to the traditional institution, saying that the judgment has highlighted the importance of upholding the rule of law and constitutionalism in order to prevent political manipulation of traditional institutions.
He said: “The traditional institution has held a revered and respected position in Nigerian society but in recent years, there have been instances of political interference and manipulation of traditional rulers for political gain. This has not only tarnished the reputation of traditional rulers but has also undermined their ability to serve as unbiased and impartial leaders within their communities.
“The court’s ruling is a pivotal moment in addressing these challenges and restoring the honour and dignity of the traditional institution. By upholding the rule of law and constitutionalism, the court has sent a clear message that traditional rulers should be free from political manipulation and interference. This decision will help to ensure that traditional rulers can continue to fulfill their roles as custodians of tradition, culture and community leadership without outside influence.”
The Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, in his reaction stated that with Kano being the only state in the North that had remained peaceful without insurgency and banditry or any kind of security challenge, it would be inappropriate for any person to come and create artificial problem in the state. He called on all the parties to remain calm and not do anything capable of bringing instability in the state.
“The Federal Government should steer clear of a matter that is purely a state affair,” he advised.
