A judicial mano-o-mano in Kano

Muhammad Ali, the American boxing improvement whom the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) voted the Sports Personality of the 20th Century successful 1999, often promoted pugilistic endeavor successful verse.

When past ruler of the country, formerly known arsenic Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga, invited him to a contention against past reigning champion, George Foreman, for the undisputed heavyweight boxing title of the satellite successful October 1974, Ali christened the contention arsenic “Rumble successful the Jungle.”

One twelvemonth later, successful October 1975, Filipino dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, thought to imitate his person successful Zaire by inviting Ali to combat his long-time rival, Joe Frazier, for a 3rd clip for bragging rights to the rubric of Greatest of All Time (GOAT). Never abbreviated of a keen articulator for each occasion, Ali promised that it was going to beryllium “a killa and a thrilla and a chilla, erstwhile I get that gorilla successful Manila.” The combat went into the past books arsenic “Thrilla successful Manila.”

Over a five-day play successful the past week, 3 antithetic judges successful 2 tribunal systems successful Nigeria – 1 authorities and 1 national – person gone mano-o-mano successful Kano successful judicial pugilism deploying a fusillade of mutually contradictory ex-parte and interim orders, each and each purporting to comfortableness 1 broadside oregon the different successful the contention implicit the destination and aboriginal of the Kano Emirate.

Like the legendary manager of Arsenal FC, Arsene Wenger, who ever seemed not to spot atrocious things that helium was reluctant to pronounce upon, Yakubu Maikyau, the physically imposing but somnolent President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), connected this juncture got unusually exercised by the judicial blood-sport successful Kano.

In an uncharacteristically forthright statement, Mr. Maikyau, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), denounced “the conducts (sic) of counsel and the courts successful handling the proceedings, which culminated successful the orders issued by the Federal High Court, the Kano State High Court, and again the Federal High Court”, describing them arsenic ‘a circus’, which “have brought utter disgrace and shame to the profession.”

A connection from this president of the NBA connected this benignant of matter is truthful antithetic that it is simply a spectacle connected its own, determination to beryllium admired for the information of its beingness and not to beryllium made the taxable of immoderate quibble. There are respective things that this president of the NBA was reluctant to utter but whose acknowledgment is indispensable if the affliction that helium has chosen connected this juncture to recognise is to beryllium lanced for good.

First, it indispensable number arsenic 1 of those judicial miracles that person go the staple of the Nigerian judiciary that 2 antithetic judges of the Federal High Court managed to some defy the Constitution and overrule the Supreme Court implicit a section chieftaincy question. Section 251 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution makes it wide that the Federal High Court is simply a tribunal of constricted jurisdiction confined to issues implicit which the Federal Government has competence to marque laws oregon to needfully ancillary matters.

A chieftaincy dispute, which is what the tussle implicit the Emirship of Kano is, is palpably beyond the scope of the Federal High Court nether the constitution and nether well-established jurisprudence of the Supreme Court.

Thirty six years ago, pursuing his 1986 deposition arsenic the Emir of Muri by past Governor of Gongola State, Yohanna Madaki, a soldier, Alhaji Umar Abba Tukur sued to enforce his cardinal rights earlier the Federal High Court successful Kano. The Supreme Court made wide that the Federal High Court is simply a tribunal of constricted jurisdiction and warned: “Courts successful this country, without exception, person nary powerfulness to prescribe jurisdiction for themselves. Neither bash they person powerfulness to grow oregon trim their country of jurisdiction.”

Even much telling was this enactment from the judgement of Otutu Obaseki speaking successful that lawsuit for a unanimous Supreme Court: “all the breaches of the cardinal rights alleged travel from the deposition of the appellant from the bureau of Emir of Muri by the Military Governor of the State. The bureau of Emir of Muri is simply a chieftaincy bureau and the deposition of the Emir a chieftaincy question which lone a State High Court has jurisdiction to determine.”

Second, Abdullahi Liman, the justice of the Federal High Court, who issued the archetypal order, recognised explicitly that determination were “constitutional and jurisdictional issues evident connected the look of the application.” Rather than caution him to tarry, this designation appears to person inspired Abdullahi Liman to undue haste successful issuing a alternatively muscular end-run of the jurisdictional inquiry.

Third, the lawsuit earlier Abdullahi Liman acrophobic the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law of 2024, assented to by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf connected May 23. After indicating his assent to the law, the Governor publically asked what clip it was, to which the effect came that it was 5:10 pm. All tribunal registries successful Nigeria were already closed.

A fewer hours aboriginal connected the aforesaid day, however, Abdullahi Liman claimed to person issued an bid directing parties to “maintain presumption quo ante the transition and assent to the bill.” The earthy question that helium unsocial indispensable reply is: erstwhile was the lawsuit filed and successful what registry?

Fourth, Simon Amobeda, different arguable justice of the aforesaid Federal High Court, proceeded to contented different bid connected the aforesaid taxable matter, contempt confessing connected the look of the bid to being “mindful of the bid made” 5 days earlier by Abdullahi Liman.

Fifth, the existent ungraded successful this substance is what the Federal High Court has turned into. Under the ticker of its existent Chief Judge, John Tsoho, the Court has developed a estimation arsenic a harmless harbour for a coven of judicial renegades specialised successful the concern of issuing scandalous pay-as-you-go orders astatine the urging of predictable governmental clients.

The enactment up of judges of the Federal High Court to whom these cases usually get assigned cannot beryllium oregon thrive but with the cognition and complicity of the Chief Judge of the tribunal who assigns the cases to the judges and posts them to assorted stations.

Under the enactment of Chief Judge John Tsoho, this corrupt judicial coven has authored a self-serving power-grab, turning the Federal High Court from a forum of specialised and constricted jurisdiction envisaged by the constitution and sanctified by the Supreme Court, into a tribunal of unlimited jurisdiction of their ain invention with non-existent supervisory competence implicit the authorities precocious courts, which the Constitution created arsenic courts of unlimited and wide jurisdiction.

They countermand, overrule, and reappraisal authorities precocious courts astatine volition connected the ground of wholly fictional perversions of their ain significance. To beryllium fair, determination are galore judges of the Federal High Court who are honest, hard-working and plainly scandalised by this development. But the beingness of this coven and the information that this Chief Judge of the Federal High Court is complicit successful its judicial brigandage tin nary longer beryllium denied.

For the amended portion of the past 4 years, Chief Judge John Tsoho has been voluble successful complaining that judges of his tribunal are “overburdened with work.” It is difficult, therefore, to spot beyond corruption and perversion successful explaining however 2 judges of the aforesaid tribunal tin spell rampaging beyond their permissible scope to invent jurisdiction that they cognize they don’t have.

The lone hopeful happening successful this atrocious communicative is that it has taken this judicial mano-o-mano successful Kano to rouse a acceptable of actors who person for agelong chosen to beryllium portion of the occupation successful offices that necessitate them to beryllium portion of the solution.

The Nigerian Bar Association claims to beforehand the regularisation of law. It is, therefore, disappointing erstwhile its president creates mendacious equivalence betwixt the Federal High Court and a State High Court connected a question of chieftaincy. There is none. As for the projected brushwood betwixt the out-going Chief Justice of Nigeria and the pugilists adjacent week, anyone holding their enactment does truthful astatine their ain risk. This Chief Justice embodies the problem.
Odinkalu, a lawyer and teacher, tin beryllium reached astatine chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu