20-yr emirate tussle: We accept verdict – Jokolo’s lawyer

Lawyer to the deposed Emir of Gwandu, Al Mustapha Jokolo, said on Wednesday that they accept the judgement by the Supreme Court which overturned court orders for his reinstatement.

The Supreme Court, in a split judgement of three against and two, found that the High Court in Kebbi, which affirmed Jokolo as emir, lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter as the requirement for the court action was not complied with.

The apex court also affirmed the incumbent, Alhaji Muhammadu Iliyasu Bashar, as the Emir of Gwandu.

SPONSOR AD

With the judgement, the 20-year old long tussle over the Gwandu Emirate throne between Ilyasu-Bashar and Jokolo has come to an end.

Bashar, who is a cousin of Jokolo, had, through his counsel, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), challenged the verdicts in favour of Jokolo’s reinstatement against him and the Kebbi State Government. 

Reacting to the judgement, Jokolo’s counsel, Sylvester Imhanobe, ruled out any application for judicial review as he (Jokolo) had accepted the verdict in good faith. 

However, Imhanobe expressed surprise that the majority decision relied heavily on Section 4 of the Chiefs (Appointment and Deposition) Law of Kebbi State when their case centred on Section 6, which does not require a pre-action complaint, since it was not about the selection of a new king.  

“Our case was on deposition, which is the Section 6 of the Section 4 of the Chiefs (Appointment and Deposition) Law, but theirs is Section 4 of the law; we did not go near Section 4,” he said. 

One of Jokolo’s aides told one of our correspondents, who visited his Ashafa House in Kaduna yesterday, that the deposed emir had urged his supporters to be calm and see the judgement as the will of God. 

The aide, who preferred anonymity, said though Jokolo was inside the house performing zuhr prayer, it was not the right time to speak.

The verdict

In the lead judgement delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the Supreme Court held that Jokolo ought to have submitted a formal complaint to the governor, as provided under Section 4 of the Kebbi State Chiefs (Appointment and Deposition) Law, before approaching the court for intervention.

“This suit was filed prematurely, without first complying with the requirement to present a complaint to the governor.

“Consequently, the trial court lacked jurisdiction, and its judgement is a nullity,” Agim held.

He added, “The failure to notify the governor stripped the court of jurisdiction to hear the case.”

Based on that, the panel set aside the judgements of both lower courts, but did not make order as to costs.

However, in a dissenting judgement, Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Salawa disagreed with the majority judgement, dismissed the cross-appeals and affirmed the verdicts of the lower courts. 

He argued that the governor ought to act in accordance with the law and due process. 

Similarly, Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, while dissenting to the majority judgement, submitted that it was high time the apex court began to deliver substantial justice to the people. 

Earlier, during the proceeding on March 11, the parties had agreed for the consolidation of the four appeals and two cross-appeals and for the decision on the principal appeal to be binding on the rest. 

Other motions in the appeal were consolidated to ease the conclusion of the protracted legal dispute. 

Emir Ilyasu Bashar, who is a cousin of Jokolo, had, through his counsel, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), challenged the verdicts in favour of Jokolo’s reinstatement against him and the Kebbi State Government. 

The Kebbi State High Court had, in 2005, nullified Jokolo’s removal from the throne and was affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Sokoto on April 14, 2016, including the orders to pay all his outstanding salaries and entitlements for the period he was out of office. 

Ilyasu-Bashar had contended that the high court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the claims of Jokolo, adding that the proceedings at the appellate court were null, void and of no effect whatsoever because of his non-compliance with Section 4.

However, Jokolo’s lead counsel, Sylvester Imhanobe, asked the Supreme Court panel to dismiss the cross-appeals with substantial costs against the Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris, the Attorney-General of the State, Abdullahi Umar, among others as they failed to present facts to disturb the concurrent findings of the lower courts that the state governor failed to convoke the requisite inquiry as provided by Section 6 of the Chiefs (Appointment and Deposition) Law of Kebbi State before his (Jokolo’s) deposition. 

The justices of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Tunde Awotoye, had, in the judgement in 2016, held that Jokolo’s deposition by former Governor Adamu Aliero of Kebbi contravened the provisions of the law.

The panel held that the action specifically ran against Sections 6 and 7 of the Chief Appointment and Deposition Law of the state.

The appellate court held that from evidence placed before it, the state government neither made inquiry into the allegation against Jokolo, nor consulted the state Council of Chiefs before carrying out the decision.

Before his deposition in 2005, Jokolo, who is a retired Nigerian Army major and former Aide De Camp to former Head of State General Muhammad Buhari, was serving as the 19th Emir of Gwandu. 

Gwandu is also known as Gando and is located in Kebbi State, Northwest Nigeria. It was one of the old kingdoms of the Hausa states and was founded in the 16th century by the Kabbawa people. The kingdom came under British rule in 1903.

Jokolo was deposed in 2005 and subsequently challenged the action in court. Since then, the legal battle had been on for 20 years until yesterday.

The Court of Appeal, Sokoto Division, in its ruling in 2014, had ordered Jokolo’s reinstatement, But Emir Ilyasu Bashar and the Kebbi State Government appealed the decision. Their arguments included that the case was wrongly filed at the State High Court, rendering the appeal proceedings null and void.

Residents welcome judgement

The Supreme Court’s judgement yesterday elicited reactions in Birnin Kebbi, the seat of Gwandu Emirate.

Residents, who spoke to Daily Trust, said they felt relieved that the emirate tussle was resolved.

Ahaji Umar Farouk, from the Gwandu Emirate and resident of Birnin Kebbi, said: “We’re relieved that the 20-year old succession tussle to the throne of Gwandu Emirate had been laid to rest with the Supreme Court judgement. People are going about their businesses. No one is angry about the pronouncement of the court”. 

Another resident, Alhaji Abubakar Ahmed Birnin, said the judgement marked a new chapter in the history of the emirate as “both parties have buried the hatchet, the emirate needs to move forward from here.”

The village head of Rafin Atiku ta gabas, under Gwandu Emirate, Alhaji Hamza Ahmed Birnin Kebbi, said the judgement was delivered at the right time.  

“I will enjoin people of Gwandu Emirate to maintain peace and to continue to respect the emir”, he said.

Kebbi govt calls for unity, reconciliation

In a statement yesterday, the Kebbi State’s Commissioner for Information, Ahmed Birnin Kebbi, called on the people of the Gwandu Emirate to see the judgement as a call for unity and reconciliation.
The statement said the government was optimistic that the judgment would usher in a new era of peace and progress for the emirate in particular and the state in general.
It added that the government had extended its congratulations to Emir Iliyasu Bashar.
It described the victory as a culmination of a long-standing feud and litigation that had plagued the emirate for two decades.
It noted that the judgment had brought an end to the impasse, which had raised questions and negatively impacted the tranquility required for the emirate to function effectively.
The government urged the emir to be magnanimous in victory and to rally all feuding family members to bring peace and stability to the traditional institution and the emirate.