The Court of Appeal in Abuja has halted the reinstatement of Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano. The ruling came from a three-member panel of justices, led by Justice Okon Abang, who unanimously agreed to suspend the implementation of an earlier judgment that had overturned the nullification of Sanusi II’s appointment.
The earlier judgment, delivered on January 10 by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, ruled that the nullification of Sanusi’s appointment was done without proper jurisdiction. It ordered that the case be transferred to the Kano State High Court for further proceedings.
However, in response to fresh applications numbered CA/KN/27M/2025 and CA/KN/28M/2025, the appellate court decided that enforcing the earlier ruling should be paused until the matter is heard at the Supreme Court.
Justice Abang noted that the law required the court to act in a fair and just manner. He stated that it was necessary to preserve the subject matter of the case, especially since Sanusi had served as emir for five years before his removal. He added that the former emir had the right to protection under the law.
The dispute over Sanusi II’s reinstatement dates back to June 20, 2024, when the Federal High Court in Kano, presided over by Justice Abubakar Liman, nullified the Kano Emirates Council (Repeal) Law 2024. This law, passed by the Kano State Government, had reinstated Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano.
A legal challenge was brought by Aminu Baba-Dan’Agundi, who filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit. Justice Liman had ruled that all parties, including the Kano State House of Assembly, must maintain the status quo under Emir Ado Bayero. However, the appellate court later determined that the case was a chieftaincy and state legislative dispute rather than a fundamental rights matter. It noted that the appropriate court to handle such cases was the Kano State High Court or the FCT High Court.
In response, the appellate court ruled that the lawsuit should be transferred to the Kano State High Court, where a new judge who had not been involved in the case would be assigned. The court also ordered Baba-Dan’Agundi to pay N500,000 in legal costs to the Kano State House of Assembly.
However, two of the appellate justices, Justice Mohammed Mustapha and Justice Abdul Dogo, expressed a different opinion. They argued that the right approach was to strike out Baba-Dan’Agundi’s case at the Federal High Court instead of transferring it. As a result, the case was ultimately struck out.
This ruling affects multiple related appeals, including cases involving the Kano State Assembly, the Kano State Government, Emir Ado Bayero, and the Attorney General of Kano State.
