Court Voids Banishment of Ex-emir Sanusi from Kano

A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared unlawful and a violation of basic human rights of the ex-emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi for his banishment from Kano and his forcible relocation to Awe in Nasarawa state.

Judge Anwuli Chikere, in a judgment handed down on Tuesday, ruled that the manner in which Sanusi was forcibly evicted from the palace after his dethronement and taken away, by police and State Security Service (SSS) agents on Kano State Government instruction in Nasarawa. State against his will was a vicious violation of his rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.

Judge Chikere, who declared void the 2019 Emirate Council Act under which the Kano State government claimed to have acted, ruled that as a citizen of Nigeria, who did not commit no offense, Sanusi had the right to reside in any part of the country. .

The judge, who awarded damages of 10 million naira against the Kano state government, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the SSS, also ordered them to issue a public apology to Sanusi. in at least two national dailies.

Although the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) was sued as the fourth defendant, Judge Chikere excluded AGF from the suit on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to establish his case against the fourth defendant.