The Kano State Government has maintained that Muhammadu Sanusi II remains the 16th Emir of Kano, despite a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.
The state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Haruna Isa Dederi, clarified that the ruling does not overturn Sanusi’s reinstatement.
Dederi addressed journalists on Friday, explaining that the Court of Appeal had earlier affirmed the state government’s decision to reinstate Sanusi in a judgment delivered on January 10, 2025.
He noted that the same court cannot reverse its own ruling, emphasizing that only the Supreme Court has the authority to do so.
His statement was in response to an appeal filed by Alhaji Aminu Baba Dan Agundi, a kingmaker loyal to the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero.
Dan Agundi had requested a stay of execution, seeking to halt the enforcement of Sanusi’s reinstatement until the Supreme Court issues a final judgment.
Dederi clarified that the Court of Appeal’s decision only maintains the present situation until the Supreme Court rules on the matter.
He insisted that the judgment from January 10 remains valid and has not been set aside.
“The Appeal Court today, after hearing their application for a stay of execution, ruled that the status quo should rather be maintained as it is now, until after the judgment of the Supreme Court. The have filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.
“It doesn’t mean that the judgment delivered on January 10, 2025, has been quashed. That judgment is still standing and still in place and subsisting. The Court of Appeal cannot reverse its own decision. It is not possible. It is only a supreme Court that has the power to set aside the judgment given by a lower court,” Dederi stated.
Sanusi II was removed as Emir of Kano on March 9, 2020, under former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s administration, which accused him of insubordination and conflicts with the government.
After his dethronement, he was sent into exile in Nasarawa State.
However, in May 2024, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf repealed the Kano State Emirate Council Law 2019, which had divided the emirate into five smaller ones.
This decision restored Sanusi as the sole Emir of Kano, overturning the previous government’s action.
On January 10, 2025, the Court of Appeal in Abuja, led by Justice Mohammad Mustapha, nullified a Federal High Court ruling that had challenged the Kano State Government’s authority under the new Emirate Council Law.
This ruling confirmed Sanusi’s reinstatement.
However, Dan Agundi took the case to the Supreme Court and requested a delay in implementing the judgment until a final decision is made.
