THE Supreme Court of Nigeria on Monday adjourned the hearing of the Kano Emirate dispute to April 17, 2027, following procedural developments that stalled proceedings.
News Point Nigeria reports that Justice Adamu Jauro, who presided over the matter, granted the adjournment after the case could not proceed as earlier scheduled.
The suit, which had been slated for hearing on Monday, was deferred due to a motion filed by counsel to one of the defendants on April 14 and subsequently served on the appellant’s counsel on April 15, 2026.
In line with court rules, the appellant is entitled to a two-week period to respond to such a motion, making it procedurally impossible for the case to proceed on the scheduled date.
Clarifying the situation, the appellant’s counsel, Barrister Mamman Lawan Yusufari, explained that the matter was listed strictly for hearing and not for judgment, contrary to widespread assumptions.
“The suit was for hearing today and not for judgment as many were saying,” Yusufari stated.
“Counsel to one of the defendants filed a motion on April 14 and served us a day after. We are entitled to reply to the motion within 14 days from the date of service, hence the adjournment as the matter could not proceed,” he added.
The case is rooted in the ongoing Kano Emirate crisis, which has generated intense legal and political contestation in recent years.
It will be recalled that Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, in May 2024 reappointed Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Fulani Emir of Kano, a move that effectively dethroned the 15th Emir, Aminu Ado Bayero.
Sanusi II himself had earlier been removed from the throne on March 9, 2020, during the administration of former governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Alongside the reinstatement, the state government also amended the Kano Emirate Law, a move that further intensified the dispute.
The legal battle that followed included efforts to challenge and invalidate the dethronement of Emir Aminu Ado Bayero.
Dissatisfied with an earlier ruling of the Court of Appeal, Aminu Babba Dan’Agundi, a kingmaker in Bayero’s cabinet, through his legal team, instituted the suit at the Supreme Court in January 2025.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal had held that the Federal High Court in Kano lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter, describing it as outside its powers.
The judgment was welcomed by the Kano State Government, with the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice at the time, Barrister Haruna Dederi, stating that it affirmed the legality of the government’s actions.
“This ruling validates the government’s lawful actions and clarifies jurisdiction over chieftaincy matters, reinforcing the constitutional boundaries of courts in such affairs,” Dederi had said.
However, Dan’Agundi rejected the interpretation, instructing his legal team to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court.
He argued that the case had been wrongly classified as a chieftaincy dispute rather than a matter involving fundamental human rights violations, insisting that the appellate court erred in its interpretation.
With the adjournment, the protracted legal contest over the Kano Emirate is set to continue, leaving the final resolution of the dispute pending before the apex court.