In a significant ruling, the Kano State High Court, under the direction of Justice Amina Aliyu, has issued a permanent injunction against Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero from presenting himself as the Emir of Kano. The court’s decision also extends to the deposed Emirs of Bichi, Rano, Gaya, and Karaye, barring them from assuming the title of emir.
This legal action stems from a lawsuit initiated by the Kano State government following the repeal of the Kano Emirate Law 2019 on May 23, 2024. This legislation, passed by the Kano State House of Assembly, effectively dissolved the five emirates that had been created from the historic Kano Emirate by former Governor Umar Ganduje. Subsequently, Governor Abba Yusuf signed the Kano Emirate Law 2024 on May 24, 2024, reinstating Muhammadu Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano.
Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero contested his removal as Emir and obtained an interim court order from the Federal High Court in Kano, restraining the governor and law enforcement agencies from displacing him pending the determination of his human rights application. Consequently, Bayero remained at the Nasarawa mini palace, while Muhammadu Sanusi II occupied the Gidan Rumfa palace in Kano.
Attempts by the state government to enforce Bayero’s eviction from the Nasarawa mini palace were stymied by the Federal High Court order, which the police upheld as binding. In response, the government pursued legal action to prevent Bayero and the other deposed emirs from continuing to represent themselves as emirs and to vacate their respective palaces.
In her ruling, Justice Aliyu upheld the constitutionality of the Kano Emirate Council Repeal Law 2024 and Governor Yusuf’s signing of the law, asserting that both actions were executed in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, she clarified that issues related to Bayero’s eviction from the Nasarawa mini palace fall under the jurisdiction of a rent tribunal, not within the scope of the court’s consideration.
Concluding the judgment, Justice Aliyu directed Bayero and the other deposed emirs to promptly surrender all traditional royal artifacts belonging to the Emirate to the government and Muhammadu Sanusi II, the substantive Emir of Kano.
