The Court of Appeal in Abuja has halted the enforcement of its judgment that overturned a Federal High Court ruling nullifying the Kano State Government’s actions regarding the reinstatement of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano.
The decision, delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Okon Abang, suspends enforcement pending a final ruling by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on the Kano Emirate dispute, particularly in light of the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024.
Sanusi’s reinstatement followed the passage of the 2024 law by the Kano State House of Assembly amid a legal battle initiated by Alhaji Aminu Babba-Dan’agundi, a kingmaker holding the title of Sarkin Dawaki Babba.
In June 2024, a Federal High Court in Kano had nullified the steps taken to reappoint Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano, following Babba-Dan’agundi’s legal challenge against the Kano State House of Assembly, its Speaker, the Attorney General of Kano State, and security agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS).
The controversial law repealed the 2019 Emirate Council Law, which had divided the original Kano Emirate into five separate emirates under former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
Justice Abdullahi Muhammad-Liman of the Federal High Court declared that all actions taken by the state government under the new law were null and void. However, the Kano State House of Assembly appealed the ruling.
In January 2025, the Court of Appeal overturned the trial court’s decision, ruling that the lower court lacked jurisdiction over the matter and ordering a fresh trial.
Seeking redress, both parties escalated the case to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Babba-Dan’agundi applied for an injunction from the Appeal Court to prevent enforcement of its ruling while awaiting the Supreme Court’s verdict.
On Friday, Justice Okon Abang ruled in favor of granting the injunction, agreeing with the Kano State Assembly that such relief is only warranted when an applicant demonstrates “special circumstances.” The court determined that Babba-Dan’agundi had a valid and arguable appeal before the Supreme Court and a legal right that should be protected pending the final decision.
“It is in the overall interest of justice to grant the application,” Abang stated.
He ordered all parties, including the Kano State House of Assembly and the Kano State Government, to refrain from enforcing the Appeal Court’s judgment in case number CA/KN/126/2024 until the Supreme Court rules on the appeal.
Additionally, the court directed all parties to “maintain the status quo ante bellum” (the situation before the legal dispute arose) and required Babba-Dan’agundi to file an undertaking within 48 hours to compensate the respondents for any damages if the injunction was later deemed unnecessary.
The legal battle stems from the Kano State House of Assembly’s May 23, 2024, decision to dissolve the four additional emirate councils created in 2019. On the same day, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf dethroned the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado-Bayero, and reinstated Muhammadu Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano.
