The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, yesterday summoned the chief judges of the Federal High Court and the Kano State High Court over the conflicting court orders judges under them issued in the past days concerning the Emirship crisis in Kano.
On Tuesday, Justice S.A Amobeda of the Federal High Court in Kano ordered the eviction of the reinstated emir, Muhammadu Sanusi II, from Gidan Rumfa palace.
On the same day, Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu of Kano State High Court issued a separate order, restraining the police, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Nigerian Army from evicting, harassing, or arresting Sanusi.
Sanusi and Aminu Ado-Bayero had been locked in a battle for the royal stool since last Friday after Governor Abba Yusuf reinstated Lamido Sanusi as the sole Emir of Kano after implementing a new law.
Sanusi was dethroned in March 2020 by former governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and replaced by Ado-Bayero.
Last Friday’s dethronement sparked protests from their respective supporters in Kano.
However, yesterday, the CJN Ariwoola, who is the Chairman of NJC, summoned the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, and the Chief Judge of Kano, over conflicting injunctions regarding the Kano Emirate crisis.
The Federal High Court CJ and the CJ of the Kano State High Court have been asked to appear before the National Judicial Council (NJC) over the conflicting interim injunctions regarding the emirate tussle.
According to a statement by the Director of Information of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Soji Oye, Ariwoola summoned John Tsoho, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, and Dije Aboki, Chief Judge of Kano State High Court, to an emergency meeting scheduled to hold on Thursday (today).
“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 in part.
There are strong indications that the NJC will conduct an emergency meeting next week where the subject Judges are likely to be invited and subjected to serious investigations, ThisNigeria learnt.
The NJC had repeatedly warned against conflicting injunctions, holding that there could be consequences for any erring judge.
*NBA calls for punitive actions against lawyers, judges
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has called for punitive actions against the lawyers and judges involved in the issuance of conflicting orders in the Kano Emirate legal tussle.
The umbrella body of lawyers in the country opined that the actions of lawyers and judges have brought utter disgrace and shame to the profession.
NBA added that the issue has exposed the entire legal profession in Nigeria to public ridicule and opprobrium.
Its president, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), in a statement yesterday in Abuja, vowed to drag any lawyer found culpable in the matter before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) for deserved appropriate sanctions.
The NBA boss called on the chief judges of the Federal High Court and his counterpart in the High Court of Kano State to identify the judicial officers involved and drag them before the NJC for disciplinary action.
“I have keenly followed the developments on the recent events concerning the stool of the Emir of Kano. I must say, without any equivocation, that the conduct of counsel and the courts in the handling of the proceedings, which culminated in the orders issued by the Federal High Court, the Kano State High Court, and again, the Federal High Court, in the circus, have brought utter disgrace and shame to the profession – have exposed the entire legal profession in Nigeria to public ridicule and opprobrium.
“The damage would take the legal profession a long time to recover from. It is unfortunate and was uncalled for. For a country whose legal resources and expertise have for several decades been exported and positively impacted not only the African continent but the world at large, it is completely unacceptable that the processes of our courts would be deployed in the manner we have witnessed in the last couple of days, on a subject matter that is as clear as chieftaincy dispute.
“This is a subject that has been sufficiently dealt with by legislation and case law, leaving no one confused about the jurisprudence on the subject – both procedural and substantive.
“Without prejudice to the subsisting actions before both the Federal High Court and the Kano State High Court, it is my considered view that there is an urgent need to scrutinise the professional conduct of both counsel and the judges involved in these matters.
“This is to enable the relevant bodies or institutions to determine their culpability or otherwise, from an ethical and professional standpoint.
“I, therefore, call on the respective heads of the courts of the judges concerned, to take immediate steps to look into their conduct, with the view to finding any possible abuse of their judicial offices and file a report with the National Judicial Council for necessary action.
“The NBA, on the other hand, will investigate the conduct of the counsel involved in these cases and shall not hesitate to commence disciplinary action against them before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary,” the NBA said.
It would be recalled that the NJC had repeatedly warned against conflicting injunctions, insisting that there could be consequences for any erring judge.
In 2021, the NJC headed by the former CJN, Tanko Muhammad, punished three judges who issued conflicting orders in the leadership crisis that dogged the PDP this year.
Okogbule Gbasam of the High Court of Rivers State; Nusirat Umar of the High Court of Kebbi State, and Edem Kooffreh of the High Court of Cross River State, were barred by the NJC from elevation to either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court.
While Gbasam and Ms Umar were blocked from promotion to the higher bench for two years, Kooffreh’s sanction carries five years.
In one week, three courts in different states also issued counter-orders about the office of the national chairman of the PDP.
While the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt restrained Uche Secondus from parading himself as PDP national chairman on August 24, another Kebbi State High Court in Birnin-Kebbi restored Secondus’ mandate as the national chairman of the opposition PDP on August 27.
A day after Secondus’ reinstatement, another High Court in Calabar, Cross River State, issued an interim order restraining him from resuming office as the PDP chairman.
*Gov Yusuf orders arrest of protesters
Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, yesterday imposed stringent restrictions on all public gatherings intended for protest within the state.
The governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, in a statement yesterday, said the directive was an exercise of the authority vested in the governor as the chief security officer of the state.
“By his position, the governor has directed the Police, the Directorate of State Security Services, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, to apprehend, detain, and prosecute any individual or group partaking in demonstrations on the streets of Kano.
“This decisive action is a pre-emptive strategy aimed at averting any potential breakdown of
law and order orchestrated by adversaries of the state.
“We are privy to credible intelligence indicating that certain prominent figures from the opposition party in Kano have devised plans to sponsor student associations and political agitators from other north-western states to incite chaos under the guise of advocating for the dethroned Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero.
“The state government has explicitly outlawed protests, demonstrations, or processions of any kind, and individuals found on the streets of Kano engaging in such activities will be promptly apprehended.
“Through this declaration, we caution student groups against being manipulated by troublemakers who are resolute in fomenting disorder in Kano.
“The governor urged all citizens of the state to carry on with their normal activities as the state retains its tranquillity, and the government will persist in vigilant oversight of the situation to promptly address any individuals or factions trying to undermine the relative peace that state presently enjoys,” the statement highlighted.
