Kano State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Barrister Haruna Isa Dederi, has clarified that the recent Court of Appeal ruling in Abuja regarding the emirship dispute does not nullify the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano.
Speaking to journalists, Dederi emphasized that the appellate court had already affirmed the state government’s authority to reappoint Sanusi in a landmark decision delivered on January 10, 2025.
He insisted that it was “impossible” for the same court to overturn its own ruling on the matter.
His remarks followed Friday’s ruling by the Court of Appeal on an application for a stay of execution filed by Alhaji Aminu Baba Dan Agundi, a key figure aligned with the 15th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero.
The application sought to halt the enforcement of the appellate court’s earlier judgment until the Supreme Court reaches a final decision on the matter.
Dederi maintained that the case is “functus officio,” meaning that only the Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to overturn the January 10, 2025, ruling delivered by Justice Mohammad Mustapha.
“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. They have filed an appeal at the Supreme Court,” Dederi explained.
He stressed that the appellate court’s directive did not invalidate its earlier decision.
“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,” he stated.
The controversy stems from the Court of Appeal’s January ruling, in which a three-member panel led by Justice Mohammad Mustapha set aside a judgment by Justice A. Liman of the Federal High Court, Kano.
Justice Liman had previously nullified actions taken under the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024, including the reinstatement of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir.
Unhappy with the appellate court’s verdict, Dan Agundi has taken the case to the Supreme Court in an attempt to overturn the ruling.
In the meantime, he has also sought a stay of execution on Justice Mustapha’s decision pending the Supreme Court’s final judgment.
