The Court of Appeal in Abuja has issued a ruling halting the reinstatement of Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano.
A three-member panel, led by Justice Okon Abang, on Friday, suspended the enforcement of the January 10 judgment that had vacated the nullification of Sanusi II’s appointment. The lower court had previously ruled that the Kano State High Court acted without jurisdiction in nullifying Sanusi’s appointment.
The appellate court, in its ruling on fresh applications CA/KN/27M/2025 and CA/KN/28M/2025, agreed that suspending the enforcement of the judgment pending an appeal at the Supreme Court was legally sound. Justice Abang emphasized the need to preserve the subject matter, noting that Sanusi had served as emir for five years before his removal and was entitled to protection.
On January 10, Justice Gabriel Kolawole had set aside the nullification of Sanusi II’s appointment, ruling that the case, being a chieftaincy dispute, fell under the jurisdiction of the Kano State High Court rather than the Federal High Court. Justice Abubakar Liman of the Federal High Court in Kano had previously nullified the Kano State Government’s Emirates Council (Repeal) Law 2024, which reinstated Sanusi II as the 16th Emir.
The appellate court held that the matter was a chieftaincy and state legislative dispute, not a fundamental rights issue. It cited Section 251 of the Nigerian Constitution and Section 22(2) of the Federal High Court Act, affirming that the case should have been heard by the Kano State High Court or the FCT High Court.
The court ordered the transfer of the suit to the Kano State High Court for reassignment to a judge who had not previously handled the matter. It also awarded a cost of N500,000 against the applicant, Aminu Baba-Dan’Agundi, in favor of the Kano State House of Assembly.
However, following the opinions of Justices Mohammed Mustapha and Abdul Dogo that the suit should be struck out rather than transferred, the case was ultimately dismissed.
