Kano State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Haruna Isa Dederi, has clarified that the recent ruling by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, does not invalidate the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano.
He made the clarification while speaking to journalists on Friday, Dederi said that the Court of Appeal had already affirmed the Kano State Government’s authority to reinstate Sanusi in a landmark ruling on January 10, 2025.
He stated that it is impossible for the same court to overturn its own decision, adding that only the Supreme Court has the power to do so.
His statement came in response to Friday’s ruling by the Court of Appeal on an application for a stay of execution filed by Alhaji Aminu Baba Dan Agundi, a kingmaker loyal to the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero. The appeal seeks to suspend the implementation of the ruling until the Supreme Court delivers its judgment.
Dederi explained that the Court of Appeal’s ruling simply maintains the current status quo until the Supreme Court decides on the matter. He stressed that the January 10 judgment remains valid and has not been quashed.
“The Appeal Court today, after hearing their application for a stay of execution, ruled that the status quo should rather be maintained as it is now, until after the judgment of the Supreme Court. The have filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.
“It doesn’t mean that the judgment delivered on January 10, 2025, has been quashed. That judgment is still standing and still in place and subsisting. The Court of Appeal cannot reverse its own decision. It is not possible. It is only a supreme Court that has the power to set aside the judgment given by a lower court,” Dederi stated.
Sanusi II was originally dethroned as Emir of Kano on March 9, 2020, by the administration of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. His removal was attributed to alleged insubordination and conflicts with the state government. Following his dethronement, he was banished to Nasarawa State. However, in May 2024, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf repealed the Kano State Emirate Council Law 2019, which had split the Kano Emirate into five smaller emirates. This paved the way for Sanusi’s reinstatement as the sole Emir of Kano, reversing the previous administration’s decision.
It will be recalled that on January 10, 2025, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, led by Justice Mohammad Mustapha, nullified an earlier ruling by the Federal High Court in Kano, which had invalidated the Kano State Government’s actions under the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024. This ruling upheld Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s reappointment as Emir.
However, Dan Agundi challenged the verdict at the Supreme Court and also sought a stay of execution to delay its enforcement until the apex court delivers its final ruling.
