Justice Abdullahi Muhammad Liman of the Federal High Court in Kano has transferred the case between the deposed Emir Aminu Ado Bayero and the state government to Justice Simon Amobeda.
Justice Liman , in his ruling, said the case has been transferred to Justice Amobeda due to his elevation to the Court of Appeal.
The Kano House of Assembly had repealed the Kano Emirate Council (Amendment No. 2) law that was implemented by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to dethrone Aminu Ado Bayero as Emir of Kano.
The governor also reversed the creation of four emirates, Bichi, Rano Karaye and Gaya, and sacked the emirs appointed by former governor Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
The law was also relied upon to re-appoint the 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, who was dethroned by Ganduje in 2020, as the 16th Emir of Kano.
However, Justice Liman, in his ruling, has set aside the repealment of the Kano Emirates Council Law by the state government.
The judge ruled that the appointment of Sanusi as Kano emir was null and void as the government failed to obey the court order, restraining it from taking further actions under the new emirate council law.
Liman described Governor Yusuf’s speech during the presentation of the reappointment letter to Sanusi as a road to anarchy, saying that if a court order cannot be respected despite evidence of service, then the government is heading to the explosive side.
The judge held that the defendants were aware of the interim order granted by the court but chose to ignore it and went ahead with the implementation of the law.
The judge then held that he would assume his coercive powers to enforce compliance with his order and ordered all parties to maintain the status quo.
He ordered the restoration of the Kano Emirate Council Law 2019 that split Kano into five emirates: Kano, Bichi, Karaye, Rano and Gaya.
Following his decision, Justice Liman then transferred the case to Justice Amobeda due to his elevation to the Court of Appeal.
The transfer of the case, however, caused several reactions, including from Nigerian human rights activist and lawyer Chidi Odinkalu.
Odinkalu, in a series of tweets, slammed Justice Liman’s ruling, accusing him of overstepping supreme court jurisdiction without proper authorization, stating that “Anyone who does this is a rogue, not a judge.”
He added that what Liman has done is not surprising, noting that the inclination of this judgement was already well known well ahead of today.
Odinkalu also alleged that the judgement was tainted by scandal and promised to disclose further details in due time.
The human rights lawyer states, “Today in Kano, Abdullahi Liman, a judge of @FederalHigh, has overruled long standing Supreme Court precedent, assumed jurisdiction; he does not have to grant reliefs the parties did not ask for in exercise of powers that he lacks. Anyone who does this is a rogue, not a judge.
“What Abdullahi Liman has done is not surprising. The inclination of this judgement was already well known well ahead of today. The scandals in this judgement will be fully disclosed at the right time.”
