Connect with us

News

Court declares deposed Kano emir, Sanusi’s banishment illegal, awards N10 million compensation

Published

on

 

The Federal High Court, Abuja, has declared the banishment of deposed Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, from Kano State as unlawful and unconstitutional.

Delivering judgement in Mr Sanusi’s suit, the judge, Anwuli Chikere, awarded N10 million compensation to him and against the respondents comprising the police, the State Security Service (SSS) and the Attorney-General of Kano State.

She also ordered them to tender a public apology to him in two national dailies.

She held that the Emirate Council Law, 2019, relied on by the Kano State government in banishing Mr Sanusi was in conflict with the Nigerian constitution.

According to Chikere, the Nigerian constitution is supreme and any law that is inconsistent with it shall be null and void.

The judge declared that the former emir had the right to live anywhere, including Kano State, as enshrined in the country’s constitution.

The Kano State Government had on 9 March, 2020 deposed Mr Sanusi after which security agents moved him to Abuja.

See also  Italy arrests 'most wanted' mafia boss Messina Denaro inside hospital

The Kano State Government, through Usman Alhaji, the secretary to the state government, had said in a statement, that Mr Sanusi was dethroned because of insubordination.

Sanusi was later banished to Awe, Nasarawa State, where he was detained in a private home until March 13 when he obtained an interim order of the court for his release from house arrest.

But following an ex parte application filed on his behalf by his team of lawyers shortly after the banishment, the judge, Ms Chikere, ordered his immediate release.

Although the deposed emir had since been released after the court ruling, he continued to pursue the suit raising the issues of how his rights were violated with his detention and banishment.

Sanusi, who was dethroned on March 9, 2020, had on March 12, 2020, sued the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Director-General, State Security Services (SSS) over what he called “unlawful detention/confinement.”

Also joined in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/357/2020 are the Attorney-General of Kano State and Attorney-General of the Federation as 3rd and 4th respondents, respectively.

See also  Nigerian soldier arrested in motor park with 2,000 rounds of ammunition

Mr Sanusi did not challenge his dethronement in his suit, but had sought an interim court order releasing him from detention and/or confinement and restoring his right to human dignity, personal liberty.

He also raised the issue of the respondents harassing him and violating his rights.

During the hearing of the case in September, the respondents argued that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter since the alleged violation complained of by him was a fallout of his dethronement which took place in Kano.

The line of argument suggested that the Kano division of the Federal High Court ought to be the appropriate venue to file the suit instead of Abuja.

But the court dismissed the argument in her judgement on Tuesday.

The judge also struck out the name of the AGF from the suit on the grounds that no reasonable course of action was disclosed against him in the suit.

See also  Former CBN Gov, Sanusi in closed-door meeting with Tinubu

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Good morning! Nigerian Newspapers Headlines: 2027 election: ADC, PDP await crucial S’Court verdict today

Published

on

By



1. The Supreme Court is set to deliver judgment today on the leadership disputes in the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party, a decision that could redefine both opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Ahead of the verdict, the party leaders reportedly held an emergency strategic meeting on Wednesday night where they reviewed possible outcomes of the judgment and charted the next line of action for the opposition coalition.

2. National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, David Mark, has assured party members that the ADC will be on the ballot for all elections in 2027, despite ongoing legal challenges. Speaking on Wednesday night after receiving a briefing from the party’s legal team on the recent judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

3. President Bola Tinubu has appointed Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, following the resignation of Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, who stepped down to participate in the 2027 elections. Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu previously served as Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

See also  Kano Emirate Tussle: Court to decide Sanusi's, Bayero's fate today

4. Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State on Tuesday said the sit-at-home directive in the South-East triggered what he described as a self-inflicted internal crisis in the region. Speaking at the 6th Biennial Adada Lecture Series organised by the Association of Nsukka Professors at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Soludo lamented the human and economic toll of the development, noting that lives were lost and businesses disrupted.

5. The pump prices of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) are nearing N1,400 per litre in many parts of the country as the United States and Iran fail to agree on a ceasefire that should lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. As the crisis in the Middle East lingers, coupled with the exit of the United Arab Emirates from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Tuesday, the prices of petrol have continued to rise.

6. Loyalists of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and ex-Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso have called on the opposition to adopt a Southern presidential candidate, intensifying conversations about coalition-building ahead of the 2027 general elections. However, opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress, the New Nigeria People’s Party, and the Social Democratic Party, differed on whether the presidential ticket should be zoned to the North or the South

See also  Despite returning N6.39bn, ex-accountant-general, Otunla to face trial for fraud

7. The rift between Ogun State GovernorDapo Abiodun, and the Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial DistrictGbenga Daniel, has intensified as the former accused the latter of being an ingrate after supporting his senatorial bid in the 2023 elections. It would be recalled that the duo had been at loggerheads shortly after some APC leaders in the district shut Daniel out of a stakeholders’ forum in Ijebu-Ode and subsequently endorsed Abiodun as the party’s consensus candidate from the zone



8. Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has accused some elements within the fold of the All Progressives Congress in the state of orchestrating moves to disrupt the August 15, 2026, governorship election out of fear of defeat. The governor, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, obtained in Osogbo on Wednesday, alleged that elements in Osun APC were bent on subverting the will of the people, having realised that they stood no chance at the polls.

See also  PHOTOS: Sanusi leads traditional Sallah Durbar

9. Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged leaders and aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to embrace unity and restraint ahead of primaries and 2027 general elections. In a statement titled “2027: Don’t Pull Down the Roof,” issued in Abuja, Shettima warned that internal divisions could weaken the party’s chances of success.

10. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Rilwan Olutunji Disu, has ordered immediate disciplinary action against officers of the Nigeria Police Force involved in the fatal shooting incident in Effurun, Delta State, which led to the death of a civilian, Mene Ogidi. The IGP made this known during a press briefing at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, on Wednesday.

Continue Reading

News

S’court  to deliver judgment in ADC leadership tussle, PDP Ibadan convention Thursday

Published

on

By

The supreme court will on Thursday, April 30, deliver judgement in an appeal filed by David Mark, national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), over the leadership tussle in the country.

The appeal, marked SC/CV/180/2026, was listed for judgement on the website of the supreme court and indicated that the date has been communicated to parties in the suit. According to the notice, the judgement would commence at 2 pm.

Mark, who is leading a faction of the ADC, is challenging the March 12 ruling of the court of appeal, which ordered parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum in a suit instituted by aggrieved party members.

In the appeal, the former senate president argued that the appellate court exceeded its jurisdiction by intervening in what he described as the internal affairs of a political party.

Through his counsel, Jubril Okutepa, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mark maintained that disputes relating to party leadership are non-justiciable, urging the court to set aside the judgement.

See also  Don't blame Tinubu for Nigeria’s economic woes – Sanusi

The respondents in the suit include Nafiu Bala, the ADC factional chairman; Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); and Ralph Nwosu, former national chairman of the party.

Among the reliefs sought, Mark asked the court to restrain INEC from recognising any leadership outside his faction pending the determination of the appeal.

He also prayed the court to stop the electoral body from making changes to the party’s leadership structure and to stay proceedings in a related suit pending before the federal high court in Abuja.

While INEC did not file any process in support of or against the appeal, other respondents urged the apex court to dismiss the case.

A five-member panel of the apex court reserved judgement after hearing the appeal on April 22, 2026.

The supreme court will also deliver judgement in three appeals seeking to validate the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, on November 15 and 16, 2025.

See also  Police arrest female bandits' gun supplier, six others in Zamfara

Continue Reading

News

BREAKING: Tinubu names Bianca Ojukw foreign minister, appoints new minister of state

Published

on

By


President Bola Tinubu has named Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as the new minister of foreign affairs.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu replaces Yusuf Tuggar who recently resigned to pursue the Bauchi governorship election in 2027.

Sola Enikanolaiye has been appointed as the new minister of state in the foreign ministry.

Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesperson, announced the development on Wednesday.

See also  Despite returning N6.39bn, ex-accountant-general, Otunla to face trial for fraud
Continue Reading

Trending News