Citizens’ Gavel warns no one will respect Nigeria’s judiciary if those who bring the legal profession to disrepute aren’t punished.
The National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) should thoroughly investigate the conflicting court orders concerning the Kano Emirate throne tussle between reinstated Emir Muhammadu Sanusi and Ado Bayero, who was deposed by the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, according to the human rights organization Citizens’ Gavel.
Commending Chief Justice of Nigeria Olukayode Ariwoola for summoning the Chief Judges of the Federal High Court and the Kano State High Court over the matter, Citizens’ Gavel expressed concerns that the judiciary’s reputation will suffer if such conduct is not corrected through sanctions. The organization’s Team Lead, Nelson Olanipekun, stated that the courts and some lawyers have allowed themselves to be used as tools by combatants, to the detriment of the legal profession and the peace and security of Kano State residents.
Olanipekun recalled that, barely a week after the NJC sanctioned several judges for various malfeasances, Justice A.M. Liman of the Federal High Court, who sits in Kano State and does not have jurisdiction over chieftaincy matters, issued an ex parte order on May 23, 2024. This order suspended the implementation of the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law, 2024—a law validly passed by the Kano State House of Assembly, which deposed Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero as Emir of Kano State and installed Muhammadu Sanusi II in his stead.