In a split decision of two Justices to one, the Court of Appeal in Abuja has prevented the Federal High Court in Kano from hearing the Kano Emirate legal case.
The appellate court ruled that the Federal High Court lacks jurisdiction over Kano State chieftaincy matters, stating that such cases must be decided by the Kano High Court.
Justice Gabriel Kolawole, who delivered the lead judgment, affirmed that the Federal High Court should not have been involved in chieftaincy issues and ordered that the case be sent back to the Kano State High Court, the appropriate court for such matters.
The Presiding Justice, Mustapha Mohammed, along with another Justice, agreed with Justice Kolawole that the Federal High Court had no jurisdiction in the Kano Emirate case.
However, they disagreed with his directive to return the case to the Kano Chief Judge for reassignment to a State High Court judge. Instead, the two Justices ruled that the correct action was to strike out the case rather than remand it.
As a result, the two Justices dismissed the Federal High Court’s proceedings, asserting that it had no jurisdiction to handle the matter in the first place.