The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has ruled that the Federal High Court in Kano lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate on the Kano Emirate legal battle.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, categorically stated that the Federal High Court had no authority to delve into chieftaincy disputes.
He further ordered that the case be remitted to the Kano State High Court, as it is the proper forum for such matters.
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The Presiding Justice, Mustapha Mohammed, and another Justice on the panel concurred with Justice Kolawole’s position regarding the Federal High Court’s lack of jurisdiction.
However, they disagreed on the directive to remit the case to the Kano State High Court. Instead, the two justices held that the appropriate course of action was to strike out the case entirely, rather than transferring it to the Kano State judiciary.
The court held that matters concerning Kano State Chieftaincy affairs fall solely within the jurisdiction of the Kano State High Court.
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Consequently, the majority decision resulted in striking out the proceedings initiated at the Federal High Court, emphasizing that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain the case in the first instance.
The ruling is expected to have significant implications for the ongoing legal tussle over the Kano Emirate and reaffirms the principle that state high courts are the proper venue for adjudicating matters related to traditional chieftaincy within their jurisdictions.