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• Sanusi, Bayero lead prayers in separate locations
• Why we won’t evict deposed Emir from palace –Police
By Oluseye Ojo, Lagos and Desmond Mgboh, Kano
An uneasy calm has persisted in Kano following the ruling of a Federal High Court presided over by Justice Abdullahi Mohammed Liman which nullified the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi by the Kano State government.
The uneasy state of affair is exacerbated by the various interpretations and readings of the ruling of the court by parties to the dispute, including their sympathizers, with each laying claim to victory at the court.
While it is obvious that Justice Abdullahi Mohammed Liman had nullified the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi as the Emir of Kano, a Thursday night press statement by the state government insisted that the court affirmed Mohammed Sanusi as the Emir, thus triggering the present confusion in the deeply divided city.
The statement addressed by the Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General of the State, Haruna Isa Dederi further claimed that the court had ratified the deposition of the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero and proceeded to congratulate the people of the state for the fear.
Dederi, on behalf of the governor consequently, directed the Commissioner of Police. Mohammed Usaini Gumel to immediately evict Emir Aminu Bayero from his current residence at Nassarawa mini palace while saying that government intended to demolish the structure for immediate renovation.
But despite the interpretations by the state government, Aminu Ado Bayero spent the night in the palace still guarded by his security personnel and without interference.
Emir Bayero observed also his Friday Jumat prayers at the palace, amidst a much larger crowd of worshippers who probably prayed with him in solidarity and support.
Traffic leading to the palace, it was also observed, was diverted from the four ends of the area while security remained alive around the mini palace while the prayer lasted.
At a different location of the metropolis also. Mohammed Sanusi led the Friday prayers at the Central Mosque amidst a large turnout of worshippers.
Meanwhile, the police command has deployed an impressive number of its personnel across the metropolitan area, especially areas with potential for trouble.
Saturday Sun observed that additional police personnel were deployed to the streets of Kano city.
Speaking to the press by telephone, Kano State Police Commissioner, AIG Usaini Gumel, confirmed the readiness of the police to maintain law and order
He also declared that they would not remove Aminu Ado Bayero from his current abode at Nassarawa mini palace despite last night’s directive by the Governor of Kano State. Abba Kabir Yusuf.
He reasoned that implementing the directive was equivalent to “jumping the gun,” while adding that the same Kano State government that issued the directive, had filed a case at the State High Court on the eviction order.
“The government is jumping the gun because the same government has filed a case on the eviction order, which is coming up on the 24th of June, 2024. So, if we carry out the order, it is like we are pre-empting the court because we don’t know what will happen at the court,” he stated.
The confusion deepened on Friday with legal luminary Femi Falana (SAN) describing the ruling of the Federal High Court as “confusing” and a “mockery of the rule of law.”
Falana pointed out that the Supreme Court’s rulings on the limited jurisdiction of federal courts in chieftaincy matters are binding on all authorities, and that the High Court judge in Kano has chosen to ignore the well-established precedents.
“The order is a bit confusing. But what is important, which the learned judge did not address in his ruling, is the convenient way in which two solid judgments of the Supreme Court on the limitation of the power of the Federal High Courts to interfere in the affairs of traditional institutions.
“It cannot be done via fundamental rights application. I listened to him; his lordship was talking about the need to respect the rule of law. In any country that loudly claims to pronounce and operate under the rule of law, the judgments of the Supreme Court are binding on all authorities.
“It is a mockery of the rule of law, if the high court judge decides to ignore or overrule the judgments of the Supreme Court,” Falana said.
Meanwhile, the National Coalition of Northern Lawyers, a group of activists under the aegis of Public Interest Activists (NCLPIA), have thrown their weight behind the ruling of the Federal High Court in Kano, saying the court upheld the rule of law and protected the sanctity of the traditional institution.
