A’ Court stops reinstatement of Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano pending S’Court decision
BY ANDREW OROLUA
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday stayed the enforcement of its own judgment that reinstated Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as the Emir of Kano.
Appellate court decision followed an application brought by Alhaji Aminu Babba-Dan’agundi the (Sarkin Dawaki Babba), one of the kingmakers in Kano , for a stay of Court of Appeal judgement delivered in January 2025 that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain that rocked Kano Emirate being a chieftaincy matter.
Dissatisfied with the judgement, Babba-Dan’agundi had appealed to the Supreme Court for final redress, He also filed an application before the Appeal Court seeking an injunction restraining the respondent from enforcing the judgment of the Appeal Court pending the outcome of the Supreme Court decision.
Kano State House of Assembly, the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, the Attorney General of Kano State, and security agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS) are the respondents.
Ruling on the application on Friday, Justice Okong Abang in the lead judgement agreed with the Kano State Assembly that an application for an injunction pending appeal at the Supreme Court can only be granted where the applicant has disclosed “special circumstances” warranting such an order.
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He said the Appeal Court was satisfied that the applicant (Babba-Dan’agundi) has an arguable appeal before the Supreme Court against its decision that overruled the lower court.
Besides, he said that the applicant has a legal right that deserves protection pending the outcome of his appeal at the Supreme Court.
The judge ruled that it is in the overall interest of justice to grant the application..
An injunction is hereby granted restraining the respondents (Kano State House of Assembly, Kano State Government, etc.), either by themselves, their agents, privies, servants, or personal representatives, from enforcing the judgment of this Court in Appeal No. CA/KN/126/2024 – KANO STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY & ANOR VS ALHAJI AMINU BABBA-DAN’AGUNDI & OTHERS delivered on 10/1/2025, pending the hearing and determination of the applicant’s appeal filed on 24/1/2025 before the Supreme Court of Nigeria.”
He also ordered that parties “maintain the status quo ante bellum” (the condition that existed before the legal conflict arose), as well as the Sheriff of this Court and the trial Court, as was the position before the trial court’s judgment delivered on 13/6/2024 in Suit No. FHC/KN/CS/182/2024 – ALHAJI AMINU BABBA-DAN’AGUNDI V KANO STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY & 7 OTHERS, pending the hearing and determination of the applicant’s appeal against the judgment of this Court in Appeal No. CA/KN/126/2024.
The Appeal Court further held that the applicant must within 48 hours file an undertaking to indemnify the respondents in damages in the event that the order ought not to have been made.
