By Ayo Kehinde
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has granted a stay of execution on its judgment that upheld the reinstatement of Lamido Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano, following the Kano State Government’s repeal of the 2019 Emirate Council Law.
The application for the stay was filed on February 6, 2025, by Aminu Baba Dan (Sarkin Dawaki Babba), who sought an order restraining the Kano State Government, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Inspector General of Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and other security agencies from enforcing the appellate court’s ruling pending the determination of an appeal at the Supreme Court.
The appellate court had on January 10 set aside an earlier ruling by the Federal High Court in Kano, which nullified the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024.
Ruling on the application on Friday, a three-member panel of justices led by Justice Okon Abang declared the request meritorious and deserving of the court’s discretion in the interest of justice.
The court issued a mandatory injunction halting the execution of the judgment and ordered all parties to maintain the status quo as it was before the trial court’s ruling on June 13, 2024, in suit no. FHC/KN/CS/182/2024.
Justice Abang acknowledged the applicant’s legal right to protection, noting that he had served as Emir for five years before his removal.
“In my view, I hold that the balance of convenience lies in his favour. It is deserving to protect him pending the determination of the Supreme Court,” Abang ruled.
The applicant was directed to file an undertaking within 14 days to indemnify the respondents in damages should the order be deemed unnecessary.
