Apologise to Emir Bayero – Coalition of Lawyers, Activists Tell Kano Gov

The National Coalition of Northern Lawyers and Public Interest Activists (NCNLPIA) have urged the Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, to apologise to Emir Ado Bayero for the humiliation and hardship inflicted upon him due to the alleged unlawful dissolution of the Kano Emirates.

Welcoming the ruling annulling the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano, the group said that the judgment has vindicated the popular stance on the illegality of the Kano State Government’s actions in dissolving the Kano Emirates and dethroning Emir Ado Bayero.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, the convener of the group, Barrister Napoleon Otache, who commended the court for upholding the rule of law and protecting the sanctity of traditional institutions, noted that the ruling was a victory for justice, truth, and for the people of Kano State. Otache advised the Governor to respect the court’s decision and work towards peace and reconciliation in Kano State.

He said: “In nullifying the illegality embarked upon by the Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf and his associates, the court has again proven that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man,” the statement said. “We have been reminded that might is not right and that the will of the people matters in addition to the demonstration that those who are in the right need not resort to violence to defend their rights.

“The court’s ruling has demonstrated that the rule of law must be obeyed since the defect that led to the nullification of the reappointment of the 16th Emir resulted from the governor rushing to implement a law that the court had ruled to be placed on hold. “It is now also clear that rushing to a slew of actions based on illegitimate premises would not make such illegal actions endure. The governor and Muhammadu Sanusi II must have realised by now that all they achieved with the drama they acted amounted to a nullity and a tragic waste of public resources to massage their egos.

“The ruling should be a wake-up call to the Kano State Government that it cannot introduce a state-level dictator- ship as envisaged by the gover- nor, one that sought to obliterate the constitutionally guaranteed separation of powers among the executive, legislature and judiciary.

“The judiciary has given the rude awakening that it is there to correct the conversion of the Kano State House of As- sembly into the rubberstamp factory that churned out de- structive legislations to satisfy Governor Yusuf’s whims.

“We consequently call on the Kano State Government not to waste the taxpayers’ resources on frivolous appeals but to continue to work with Emir Ado Bayero as the duly recognized Emir of Kano Emirate Council with his full official paraphernalia of office in the interest of peace and in ac- cordance with the order of the court. We make this call know- ing that all other pending legal challenges on the matter would naturally align with the Federal High Court ruling.”