Emirship in Kano: Court Sacks Sanusi, restores Ado-Bayero, four other emirate councils

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

A Federal High Court in Kano has sacked the recently reinstated Emir of Kano, Muhammed Sanusi II, and ordered the reinstatement of Ado Bayero as the Emir of Kano.

The court in it’s judgement this Thursday went further to nullify the Kano Emirate Council (Amendment No. 2) Law, 2024, that scrapped four of the five emirates councils of the state last month.

The court dismissed all steps taken by the Kano State Government to repeal the Kano Emirates Council Law relied upon by the state to dethrone the 15th Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero and four others.

Justice Abdullahi Muhammad Liman, in his rulling set aside the action of Kano government, ordering parties to maintain status quo.
Recall that the Kano House of Assembly had repealed the law enthroning the 15th Emir and establishment of additional four emirate councils – Bichi, Rano Karaye and Gaya, by the immediate past governor of the state, Dr, Abdullahi Ganduje.
The incumbent governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf had on 23 May, signed the bill that repealed the State Emirate Council law dethroning Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero as Emir of Kano to reinstall the dethroned 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi.
A kingmaker in the former Kano emirate, Aminu Babba Danagundi, the Sarkin Dawaki Babba, had dragged the state government to challenge the propriety of the law and asked the court, through his counsel, Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN), to declare it null and void.
Justice Liman, in suit number FHC/KN/CS/182/2024, had immediately ordered the state government and the other parties involved to stop the implementation of the new emirate law pending the hearing of the substantive case.
Justice Liman, who appeared at the court room at exactly 3:08 p.m, apologised for coming late.

In about an hour ruling, the judge ruled that the appointment of Mr Sanusi aa Kano emir was null and void as the government failed to obey the court order restraining it from taking further actions on the new emirate council law.

The judge described Governor Yusuf’s speech during the presentation of the reappointment letter to Mr Sanusi as a road to anarchy, saying that if a court order cannot be respected despite evidence of service then the government was heading to the explosive side.

He ordered the restoration of the Kano Emirate Council Law 2019 that split Kano into five emirates of Kano, Bichi, Karaye, Rano and Gaya