Court declines Kano kingmakers’ request to stop new emirs

Kano High Court yesterday dismissed an application filed by four Kano Emirate kingmakers that newly installed emirs should stop parading themselves as such and that the emirates recently created by the state government should not be recognised.

The court had earlier granted the order of the applicants, directing the Kano State Government, the Speaker of the House of Assembly and six other defendants to maintain the status quo until the determination of the substantive suit.

The state government had upgraded the four new emirate councils to first-class status following the passage and assent of Appointment and Deposition of Emirate Council Law 2019 by the Kano State House of Assembly.

It will be recalled that four kingmakers in the Kano Emirate had sued Governor Abdullahi Ganduje for creating four new emirates and appointing first-class emirs for them.

Other plaintiffs joined in the suit are the Speaker of the Kano House of Assembly, the Kano House of Assembly and the Attorney General of Kano State.

Read also: Ganduje and the emirate of Kano

The new emirs, Tafida Abubakar-Ila, Ibrahim Abdulkadir, Ibrahim Abubakar ll, and Aminu Ado-Bayero were also joined in the suit.

The plaintiffs in the suit are Madakin Kano, District head of Dawakintofa, Yusuf Nabahani; Makaman Kano, District head of Wudil, Abdullahi Sarki-Ibrahim; Sarkin Dawaki Mai Tuta, District head of Gabasawa, Bello Abubakar and Sarkin Ban Kano, District head of Dambatta, Mukhtar Adnan.

At the sitting yesterday, the presiding judge, Justice Ahmed Tijjani Badamosi, overruled the application argued by the plaintiffs’ counsel, Barrister Suraj Saida, SAN, noting that the emirs can continue to go about their lawful duties as emirs over their emirates.

The defendants in the suit were represented by Barrister Ibrahim Muktar who is the immediate past Attorney General of the state.

Justice Ahmed Tijjani Badamosi adjourned the matter to June 27.