The Federal High Court in Kano has barred the Kano State Government, the police and other security agencies from arresting the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado-Bayero.
Delivering judgement on Friday, Simon Amobeda ordered the state government to pay N10 million in damages to Ado-Bayero for violating his rights after deposing him and replacing him with Lamido Sanusi last month.
However, the judge refrained from making any pronouncement on the tussle between Mr Ado-Bayero and Sanusi over the emirship stool.
Ado-Bayero and Sanusi had asserted claims to the position and acted as such from two different palaces. However, the suit, which the court decided on Friday, was solely about an alleged violation of Ado-Bayero’s rights.
Governor Yusuf deposed Ado-Bayero last month after signing a law reversing the splitting of the Kano emirate into five splinters by the former administration in the state.
Implementing the law last month, the governor reinstated Lamido Sanusi as the sole Emir of Kano. Sanusi was dethroned in March 2020 and replaced with Aminu Ado Bayero by the former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje administration.
Ado-Bayero, through his counsel, M. L Yusufari, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), subsequently filed a suit dated May 27, seeking the court to restrain the state government from arresting, intimidating or infringing on his rights.
The other respondents are the Attorney General of the Federation, Attorney General Kano, Nigeria Police, Inspector General of Police, Commissioner of Police Kano, State Security Service (NSCDC), Nigeria Army, Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Air Force.
‘Illegal order of arrest’
Amobeda described, in his judgement, the order given by Governor Yusuf directing the police to arrest Ado-Bayero without any lawful justification as threatening the applicant’s fundamental rights.
The judge held that the governor’s order violated Ado-Bayero’s rights guaranteed under Section 35(1) of the Nigerian constitution.
“The act by which the governor has forced the applicant into house arrest, preventing him from going freely about his lawful business, constitutes a flagrant violation of his fundamental right to freedom of movement as guaranteed under Section 41(1) of the 1999 Constitution,” he held.
He restrained the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents by themselves, their agents, servants, privies, or any other person from arresting, detaining, threatening, intimidating and harassing the applicant or further interfering with the applicant’s fundamental rights.
“The prayer for the cost of filing and prosecuting this suit is refused, the amount having not been specifically pleaded and strictly proved,” Amobeda said.
Jurisdiction argument
One of the applicant’s lawyers, Michael Jonathan, also a SAN, had argued that the court had jurisdiction to entertain and hear the case as it was a fundamental rights suit.
Jonathan urged the court to dismiss the respondents’ preliminary objection for being unmeritorious and constituting an abuse of court process.
But the counsel for the Kano State Attorney-General, Mahmoud Abubakar-Magaji, a SAN, urged the court to dismiss and strike out the entire process, particularly the originating summons of the applicant motion on Kano Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024 and fundamental rights.
He argued that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain the case and urged the court to set aside the ex parte order it earlier granted restraining the respondents from arresting, intimidating or harassing the applicant.
The State House of Assembly dissolved on May 23 all four newly created emirate councils in the state.
Governor Yusuf dethroned Ado-Bayero and reappointed Mr Sanusi as the Emir of Kano on May 23. This came four years after former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje dethroned Mr Sanusi.
