On Friday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the implementation of its ruling, which had invalidated a Federal High Court decision that had declared the actions taken by the Kano State Government to restore former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Emir of Kano.
The Appeal Court’s three-member panel, presided over by Justice Okong Abang, rendered the decision.
In light of the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024, the suspension is pending a final ruling on the Kano Emirate dispute by the Nigerian Supreme Court.
Sanusi was reinstated after the State House of Assembly passed the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024 in the midst of a legal battle started by the kingmakers’ legal team, Alhaji Aminu Babba-Dan’agundi (also known as Sarkin Dawaki Babba).
Legal Conflicts
Recall that in June 2024, a Federal High Court in Kano, acting on an application by Babba-Dan’agundi, ruled against the actions made to reinstate Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano.
The Kano State Attorney General, the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, the Kano State House of Assembly, and security organizations including the Department of State Services (DSS) were also sued by Babba-Dan’agundi.
The 2019 Emirate Council bill, which created five emirates from the original Kano Emirate under former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, was abolished by the state government-sponsored bill.
Justice Abdullahi Muhammad-Liman of the Kano trial court issued a verdict declaring that all measures taken by the state government after the Kano Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024 was passed were void.
In accordance with the Kano Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024, I hereby declare all actions and steps taken by the respondents (Kano State House of Assembly and others) to be void and to be set aside.
The judge instructed all parties to preserve the status quo, stating that “this order does not affect the validity of the law.”
The State House of Assembly and others appealed to the Appeal Court because they disagreed with the lower court.
The trial court’s decision to provide a status quo injunction against the Emirate bill’s passing was overturned by the Appeal Court in January 2025, and a new trial of the case was mandated.
Additionally, the Appeal Court ruled that the trial court lacked the authority to consider the case.
After that, the parties filed an appeal with the Supreme Court for final redress, and Babba-Dan’agundi applied to the Appeal Court for an injunction that would prevent the respondents from implementing the Appeal Court’s ruling until the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The Appeal Court’s Opinion
An application for an injunction awaiting appeal at the Supreme Court can only be granted if the applicant has disclosed “special circumstances” that merit such an order, Justice Okong Abang acknowledged in his ruling on the application on Friday.
According to him, the Appeal Court was convinced that Babba-Dan’agundi, the petitioner, had a legitimate and debatable appeal against the Supreme Court’s verdict overturning the lower court.
He went on to say that the applicant has a right that should be upheld until his appeal is heard by the Supreme Court.
The judge decided that granting the application would serve justice overall.
The following is what the judge ordered:
In order to prevent the respondents (Kano State House of Assembly, Kano State Government, etc.) from enforcing the court’s decision in Appeal No. CA/KN/126/2024 – KANO STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY & ANOR VS ALHAJI AMINU BABBA-DAN’AGUNDI & OTHERS delivered on 10/1/2025, either by themselves, their agents, privies, servants, or personal representatives, until the applicant’s appeal is heard and decided by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on 24/1/2025.
Additionally, he directed the parties to “maintain the status quo ante bellum,” or the state that prevailed prior to the legal conflict, as well as the trial court and the sheriff, as was the case prior to the trial court’s ruling in Suit No. FHC/KN/CS/182/2024 – ALHAJI AMINU BABBA-DAN’AGUNDI V KANO STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY & 7 OTHERS, which was delivered on June 13, 2024. This order is pending the hearing and resolution of the applicant’s appeal against the court’s ruling in Appeal No. CA/KN/126/2024.
The Appeal Court additionally ruled that if the order should not have been issued, the applicant must submit an undertaking within 48 hours to reimburse the respondents for damages.
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Things You Need to Know
One of the main organizations actively contributing to the socioeconomic advancement of their various jurisdictions is the Emirate Council system.
On May 23, 2024, the Kano State House of Assembly disbanded the state’s four recently established emirate councils.
On May 23, 2024, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf reappointed Muhammadu Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano and deposed Aminu Ado-Bayero, the 15th Emir of Kano, after he had returned to office.
