S’Court Sacks First Class Traditional Ruler

News Update

THE Supreme Court has sacked Al-Mustapha Jokolo as the Emir of Gwandu, ending a legal battle that began nearly two decades ago, Premium Times reports.

In its ruling delivered on Wednesday, June 4, the court said that Jokolo did not follow due process before filing the lawsuit that led to his reinstatement.

According to the apex court, Jokolo failed to submit a formal complaint to the Governor of Kebbi State, as required by Section 5(4) of the Kebbi State Chiefs (Appointment and Deposition) Law.

This step, the court explained, must be taken by anyone who is dissatisfied with matters concerning chieftaincy before approaching the courts.

The decision was reached by a slim majority of three justices against two.

The justices who formed the majority view held that the trial court had no legal right to entertain Jokolo’s case in the first place, because the initial requirements of the law were ignored.

They stated that since the governor was not properly notified before legal action began, the High Court and the Court of Appeal acted outside their authority when they ruled in Jokolo’s favour.

Jokolo, who once served as an Aide-de-Camp to former Head of State Muhammadu Buhari, was removed as Emir in 2005 under controversial conditions.

He challenged his removal in court and, in 2014, the Kebbi State High Court ordered his return to the throne.

That judgement was upheld in 2016 by the Court of Appeal.

However, the Kebbi State Government and the current Emir of Gwandu, Muhammadu Ilyasu-Bashar, took the matter to the Supreme Court.

The court merged multiple appeals into one and gave a final ruling, cancelling all previous decisions that supported Jokolo’s reinstatement.

The court did not give any cost order and clarified that the failure to follow the proper internal steps before going to court made the entire case invalid from the start.

One of the justices, in a minority view, disagreed with the judgement and argued that the governor was still bound to act according to the law, regardless of the procedural steps.

The judgement, which was initially expected on June 6, was delivered earlier due to the upcoming Eid-el-Kabir holidays.