The state government clarified that the recent ruling only placed a hold on the execution of its earlier decision, pending a final verdict from the Supreme Court.
The state government clarified that the recent ruling only placed a hold on the execution of its earlier decision, pending a final verdict from the Supreme Court.
The Kano State government has dismissed reports that the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano was nullified by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
The state government clarified that the recent ruling only placed a hold on the execution of its earlier decision, pending a final verdict from the Supreme Court.
The Kano State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Barrister Haruna Isa Dederi, addressed journalists on the matter, reaffirming that the Court of Appeal had, on January 10, 2025, upheld the state’s authority to reinstate Sanusi.
“It doesn’t mean that the judgment delivered on January 10, 2025, has been quashed. That judgment is still standing and subsisting.
“The Court of Appeal cannot reverse its own decision; only the Supreme Court has the power to set it aside,” Dederi stated.
According to the Commissioner, the latest ruling did not overturn the reinstatement of Sanusi but merely placed a temporary hold on its implementation.
“The Court of Appeal’s decision on Friday does not in any way invalidate the earlier ruling that affirmed Sanusi’s reinstatement. The execution is only being held pending the Supreme Court’s ruling,” he explained.
Muhammadu Sanusi II, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, was first installed as Emir of Kano in 2014 but was deposed in March 2020 by the administration of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
Sanusi’s removal was controversial and viewed by many as politically motivated, given his outspoken stance on governance and economic policies.
His reinstatement in 2024 by the administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf reignited legal and political debates over the authority of state governments in traditional leadership matters.
The initial challenge to his reinstatement was heard by a Federal High Court, which ruled against it.
However, the Court of Appeal, in its January 10, 2025 judgment, set aside that ruling, citing a lack of jurisdiction by the lower court.
The matter now awaits a final resolution at the Supreme Court, which holds the ultimate authority to determine the legitimacy of Sanusi’s reinstatement.
Observers note that the ongoing legal battle underscores the complex relationship between traditional institutions and political power in Nigeria, with Kano’s emirate system often at the centre of governance struggles in the state.
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