Court orders Kano govt to pay Bayero N10m over rights violation

Former Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero

A Federal High Court sitting in Kano, on Friday, June 14, 2024, ordered the Kano State Government to pay N10 million in damages to the deposed Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado-Bayero, for breaching his fundamental human rights.

Ado-Bayero, through his counsel M L Yusufari (SAN), filed a motion exparte dated May 27, seeking the court to restrain the state government from arresting, intimidating or infringing on his rights.

The other respondents are the Attorney General of the Federation, Attorney General Kano, Nigeria Police, Inspector-General of Police, Kano State Commissioner of Police, Department of State Services, NSCDC, Nigeria Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force.

Delivering judgement, Justice Simon Amobeda described the order given by Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf directing the police to arrest Bayero without any lawful justification as a threat to the fundamental rights of the applicant.

This, the judge held, is guaranteed under Section 35(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

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“The act of the governor has forced the applicant into house arrest, preventing him from going freely about his lawful business, constitutes a flagrant violation of his fundamental right to freedom of movement as guaranteed under Section 41(1) of the 1999 Constitution,” he held.

Justice Amobeda further restrained the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th respondents either by themselves, their agents, servants, privies, or any other person from arresting, detaining, threatening, intimidating, and harassing the applicant or further interfering with the applicant’s fundamental rights.

“The prayer for the cost of filing and prosecuting this suit is refused, the amount having not been specifically pleaded and strictly proved,” the judge added.

Earlier, the second Counsel to the applicant, Mr Michael Jonathan, SAN, said that the court had jurisdiction to entertain and hear the case as it is a fundamental rights suit.

Jonathan urged the court to dismiss the respondent preliminary objection for been unmeritorious and abuse to the court.

The Kano State House of Assembly had, on May 23, dissolved all the four Emirate councils in the state.

Governor Yusuf, thereafter, dethroned Bayero, and reappointed Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Emir of Kano, four years after he was dethroned by former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

The Star