[Lamido Sanusi] Appeal Court Bars Federal High Court

In a split decision of two Justices to one, the Court of Appeal in Abuja has barred the Federal High Court in Kano from adjudicating over the Kano Emirate legal battle.

The appellate court held that the federal high court has no jurisdiction to dabble into the Kano State Chieftaincy Matters on the ground that such a case can only be determined by Kano high court.

Justice Gabriel Omoniyi Kolawole who delivered the lead judgment on Friday, held that the federal high court has no business adjudicating over the Chieftaincy matters but ordered that the matter be returned to Kano state high court, being the proper court for such matters.

However, the Presiding Justice, Mustapha Mohammed and another Justice agreed with Justice Kolawole that the federal high court has no jurisdiction to go into the Kano emirate legal battle.

They however disagreed with him that the case be returned to the Kano Chief Judge for reassignment to a Judge of the State High Court.

Instead, the two Justices held that the proper order to be made was for striking out of the case and not remittance.

Consequently, the two justices struck out the proceedings of the federal high court on the ground that it has no jurisdiction to have dabbled into the matter in the first instance.

Details later …