The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, has summoned the chief judges of both the Kano State High Court and the Federal High Court over the conflicting court orders they issued in respect of the emirate crisis in Kano.
Spokesman for the National Judicial Council (NJC), Mr Soji Oye, said in a statement that Ariwoola had called the chief judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, chief judge of Kano State High Court, Dije Aboki to an emergency meeting scheduled to hold on Thursday.
Oye said the CJN’s summons issued to the chief judges of Federal High Court and the Kano State High Court was to prepare the ground for a full scale probe.
In his summons, Ariwoola emphasised the importance of “judicial coordination and the necessity for the judiciary to present a unified front, particularly in cases of substantial public interest.
“The upcoming meeting with the chief judges aims to clarify jurisdictional boundaries and prevent future occurrences of conflicting judicial orders.
“The situation in Kano has garnered national attention, with many stakeholders calling for a swift resolution following the state government’s decision to sack Emir Ado Bayero and reinstate Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II.”
“The meeting, a prelude to a comprehensive investigation by the NJC, aims to provide the chief justice of Nigeria with a thorough briefing on this troubling development,” the statement read.
It added that there “is strong indication that the National Judicial Council will conduct an emergency meeting next week where the subject Judges are likely to be invited and subjected to serious investigations.”
Recall that he governor of Kano State, Mr Abba Yusuf had on May 24, 2024, reinstated Lamido Sanusi as the sole Emir of Kano following the implementation of a new law.
Sanusi was deposed in March 2020 and replaced by Aminu Ado-Bayero during the administration of the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of the state, Mr Abdullahi Ganduje.
The new law, which came into effect on Thursday, May 23, dissolved the four other emirate councils of Gaya, Karaye, Rano, and Bichi created by the previous administration, merging them into a single Kano emirate.
Consequently, the governor dethroned the emirs of the four disbanded emirates and restored Mr Sanusi as the sole Emir of Kano on Friday.
The development has resulted in a series of conflicting and counter court orders favouring different parties in the dispute.
On the day of Mr Sanusi’s reappointment, the Federal High Court in Kano restrained the Kano State Government from implementing the new emirate law. Yusuf, however, rejected the court’s order, citing that the judge who issued it was in the United States at the time.
Also, on Monday, May 27, the Kano State High Court ordered the police to evict Ado-Bayero from the mini palace in Nasarawa, where he has been residing since his dethronement.
In a counter order on Tuesday, a Federal High Court S. Amobeda directed the police to evict the reinstated Sanusi from the Emir’s Palace in Kofar Kudu.
Also, on Tuesday, the Kano State High Court Judge Amina Aliyu restrained the police, the State Security Service (SSS), and the Nigerian military from evicting Mr Sanusi from his palace.
