Aminu Babba Danagundi, a kingmaker of the Kano Emirate Council and the sole plaintiff challenging the dissolution of the Kano Emirate Council by the Kano State House of Assembly, has directed his lawyers to proceed to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgment of the appellant court on his application.
Last year, Danagundi, the Sarkin Dawaki Babba of the Kano Emirate Council, approached a Federal Court in Kano to enforce his rights following the repeal of the Kano Emirate Council Law 2024 by the Kano State House of Assembly. In a press conference held on Sunday at Nassarawa Mini Palace in Kano, Danagundi disagreed with the appellate court’s judgment on his application but expressed optimism that the Supreme Court would rule in his favor and to the satisfaction of the people of Kano.
Danagundi expressed shock at the behavior of Lamido Sanusi Lamido and the Kano State government, accusing them of deliberately misleading the public about the appeal court judgments in Abuja for their own selfish ends. He insisted that there was no portion of the judgments that validated the appointment of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano or offered him a cause to encourage the people to celebrate on his behalf.
The appeal court ruled that the Federal High Court had no jurisdiction to hear Danagundi’s case on the grounds that it pertained to chieftaincy and traditional matters. In the second case, the appellate court rejected the decision of Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu of the Kano High Court because it did not grant the respondents the right to a fair hearing, directing that the matter be returned to the Kano State Chief Judge for reassignment.
Danagundi stressed that all the reliefs sought in the case, including the governor’s right to assent to the bill and the state House of Assembly’s right to amend the Kano Emirate Law, were all returned for retrial. He expressed disappointment that Sanusi, a reputed Islamic scholar, would knowingly mislead the public about his purported victory, knowing fully well that the appeal court did not endorse his position as the Emir of Kano.
According to Danagundi, the summary of the two appeal court judgments is that Aminu Ado Bayero remains the Emir of Kano until the outcome of the retrial as ordered by the appeal court. He enjoined his supporters and the people of the state to remain calm and prayerful, insisting that justice will be theirs in the end.
