Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, the deposed emir of Kano, was granted freedom of movement and civil liberties on Friday by a Federal High Court in Kano.
The Kano State Government was also ordered by the court to provide the 15th Emir N10 million in damages.
The Federal High Court 3’s Presiding Judge, Justice Simon Amobeda, affirmed the applicant counsel’s withdrawal of reliefs Order 1-2 in his ruling, citing their legal right to do so and their subsequent disassociation from the case.
Prior to delving into the core of the case, he made a suggestion that he had a responsibility to settle the court’s jurisdictional disputes.
While maintaining the court’s jurisdiction to hear the case, Justice Amobeda maintained that the applicant’s fundamental human rights were violated, and the court was given the authority to handle the case under the Constitution.
He added that the applicants’ depending points are reliefs 2–7, which ask for N5 billion in damages among other things for violating his human rights.
“The court has an obligation to defend the rights of all citizens, but this protection cannot be carried out in a vacuum. An individual alleging a violation of their fundamental human rights must present persuasive and important evidence to support their claims, which the applicant has successfully done,” the judge declared.
He said that in 2019, the Kano State administration chose a new emir through the assistance of kingmakers. However, on Friday, May 23, 2024, the administration, shockingly, announced on social media that the petitioner had been deposed and that police should arrest him following a 48-hour notice to leave the palace.
“I hold that the applicant is being threatened without any legal cause, which violates his fundamental rights to liberty as stated in Section 35(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
In a similar vein, the applicant’s fundamental right to freedom of movement as protected by section 41(1) of the 1999 Constitution has been flagrantly violated by an act of the government that has placed him under house arrest and prevented him from going about his legal business.
“That the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Respondents, which are the Police, the DSS, the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy, be immediately prohibited from making an arrest, holding the applicant in custody, or harassing her by themselves, their agents, servants, privies, or any other person’s or authority.
According to the 1999 constitution, the judge declared, “that the second respondent and the Government of Kano State should pay the sum of N10 million for breach and likely breach of his Fundamental Right to Personal liberty and freedom of movement.”
But he failed in his petition over the expense of filing and prosecuting.
