Ime Akpan
The battle for the soul of the four newly created emirates in Kano has shifted to the courtroom with the Kano State High Court sitting in Ungogo declaring the bulkanisation of the Kano Emirate null and void.
It would be recalled that the Kano State house of assembly had, on May 8, signed the fractionalisation of the Kano emirate bill into five.
The bill paved the way for the decentralisation of the Kano Emirate council and created four additional first class emirates.
The new emirates are Rano, Gaya, Karaya and Bichi.
The state governor, Mr. Abdullahi Ganduje, on May 11, cemented the law by appointing four traditional rulers for the new emirates and presenting staffs of office to them despite a restraining court order obtained by one Rabiu Salihu Gwarzo on May 10.
In his ruling on Wednesday, May 15, Justice Nasiru Saminu declared the appointment and the installation of four new emirs invalid.
He ordered a return to status quo pending the hearing of the Gwarzo’s suit against the appointment of the emirs.
It would also be recalled that the state High Court had on May 10 issued an ex parte order restraining the balkanisation of Kano Emirate and installation of new Emirs.
It would also be recalled that on May 13, four kingmakers, Madakin Kano, district head of Dawakintofa, Yusuf Nabahani; Makaman Kano, district head of Wudil, Abdullahi Sarki-Ibrahim; Sarkin Dawaki Mai Tuta, district head of Gabasawa, Bello Abubakar and Sarkin Ban Kano, district head of Dambatta, Mukhtar Adnan filed a suit challenging the creation of the new emirate councils and hired 24 lawyers to do the job.
But in his reaction, the Kano State attorney general and commissioner of justice, Mr. Ibrahim Muhtar said the court did not void the appointment of four new emirs.
He explained that the court only adjourned the matter to June 21 and directed that the status quo ante should be maintained pending the hearing of the substantive suit in the matter.
“The claim that a Kano State High Court of Justice has nullified the appointments of new Emirs in Bichi, Gaya, Rano, and Karaye, there is no such order, there is no such decision. Is false and it is wrong for anybody to say that.
“The court’s pronouncement on the matter is that it is adjourned to June 21 and all parties should maintain status quo” he stated.
Regarding the restraining order issued by the court on May 10, the commissioner said the appointment of the emirs and the handing of staff of office had all been done before the order was served.
“We told the court that all that they are claiming to stop has been completed. That is the passage of the law, the law has been passed, Emirs were appointed and staff of office was given to respective emir and they have assumed their respective offices in their various emirates. So that is what we told the court. These claims, the prayers of the plaintiffs, Kano state government had completed everything before service of the court order. We cannot rely on social media for such information.
“You have to be served as a party and we have not been served. The office of the governor of Kano state was served yesterday (Tuesday), my own office as, attorney general, was served on Monday and we told the court that we need time to prepare our response to their applications. The matter was adjourned to the 21st of June for hearing.
“How then can one decide a matter before taking evidence? Judgment can only come after evidence, after argument of various counsel.
“We have not even filed our responses and we only received our service of the court order yesterday and we need time in accordance with the rules of the court.
“By the rules of the court motions are entitled to seven days and substantive applications are entitled to 21 days. The court applied the law and adjourned the matter to 21st of June.
A house of assembly member, representing Gwarzo constituency, Rabiu Sale Gwarzo filed the suit challenging the creation of the new emirates. The defendants in the suit include the office of the state governor, speaker of the state house of assembly, Kano State House of Assembly, clerk of the assembly, the commissioner for justice,” he added.
