The deposed Emir OF kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, is in the news again this time around for good as a Federal High Court sitting in Kano presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda, has ordered the Kano State Government to pay him the sum of N10 million as damages for violating his fundamental rights.
The court also ordered the state government to guarantee the deposed emir’s right to movement and personal liberty.
In a ruling on Friday, 14 June, 2024, Amobeda, explained that that he was duty bound to resolve the issue of jurisdiction of the court to determine the case before delving into the main matter of the case.
The court, which assumed jurisdiction to hear Bayero’s rights violation suit added that without jurisdiction, any proceeding is nullity.
Declaring the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case, Justice Amobeda insisted that the issue did determination fell under abuse of fundamental human rights of the applicant, adding that the Constitution had granted the Federal High Court the powers to preside over the matter.
Amobeda noted that Bayero was seeking, among others reliefs, payment of N5 billion as damages from the Kano State Government for breaching his fundamental human rights.
The judge, who noted that the applicant also asked for the enforcement of his rights to movement and personal liberty, said, “It is the duty of the court to protect the rights of every citizen but that protection cannot be done in vacuum, a person crying over violation of his fundamental human rights must provide cogent and vital evidence to that effect to which the applicant have successfully provided.”
He noted that in 2019, the then government of Kano State used the Kingmakers to select a new Emir, but surprisingly, on Friday, May 23, 2024, the Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, used the social media to propagate that he had deposed the applicant (Bayero) and ordered the Police to arrest him after giving him 48 hours to vacate the palace.
“To this end, I so hold that without any lawful justification, the applicant was threatened, and his fundamental rights to liberty as guaranteed in Section 35(1) of the 1999 Constitution, was breached.
“Similarly, the action of the government which had forced the applicant into a house arrest, preventing him from going about his lawful business, constitutes a flagrant violation of his fundamental rights to freedom of movement as guaranteed under Section 41(1) of the 1999 Constitution,” the judge added.
The court also ordered that the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Respondents – including the Police and the DSS – are either by themselves, their agents, servants, privies or any other persons or authority forthwith restrained from arresting, detaining or harassing Bayero.
Justice Amobeda further ordered that the Government of Kano State should pay the sum of N10 million for breach and likely breach of Bayero’s fundamental right to personal liberty and freedom of movement, as guaranteed in the 1999 Constitution.
