The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed the reinstatement of Al-Mustapha Haruna Jokolo as the 19th Emir of Gwandu, ending nearly two decades of legal contest over the traditional throne.
Delivering judgment on behalf of the five-member panel of the Apex court, Justice Emmanuel Agim ruled that the Kebbi State High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain Jokolo’s initial suit because he failed to exhaust the administrative remedies provided under the Kebbi State Chiefs (Appointment and Deposition) Law before approaching the courts.
“This suit was filed prematurely, without first complying with the requirement to present a complaint to the governor. Consequently, the trial court lacked jurisdiction, and its judgment is a nullity,” Justice Agim held.
The apex court noted that under Section 5(4) of the law, any aggrieved person must first submit a formal complaint to the Governor of Kebbi State before seeking judicial redress.
The apex court held that since this step was not taken, both the 2014 ruling of the Kebbi State High Court, which ordered Jokolo’s reinstatement and the 2016 decision of the Court of Appeal in Sokoto, which upheld that ruling, are null and void.
Jokolo was deposed in 2005 under controversial circumstances and subsequently challenged his removal at the Kebbi State High Court.
In its 2014 judgment, the court declared his removal unlawful and ordered his immediate reinstatement.
The judgment was based on findings that due process was not followed, as the state government neither investigated the allegations against him nor consulted the Kebbi State Council of Chiefs as required by Sections 6 and 7 of the Chiefs Law.
However, the Kebbi State Government and the current Emir, Alhaji Muhammadu Ilyasu-Bashar, refused to comply with the reinstatement order.
Instead, they filed appeals, arguing that Jokolo had bypassed the mandatory internal mechanisms for resolving chieftaincy disputes.
The Kebbi State Governor, represented by Yakubu Maikyau, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, contended that the High Court was wrong in assuming jurisdiction over a matter that should have first gone through administrative resolution.
The Supreme Court, in its judgement, agreed with the line of argument and allowed the appeal.
The apex court consolidated four appeals and two cross-appeals into one proceeding, with all parties consenting to be bound by the outcome of the principal appeal.
Meanwhile, in a dissenting judgment, however, Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Salami disagreed with the majority.
He dismissed the cross-appeals and upheld the judgments of the lower courts, arguing that the governor, while vested with administrative powers, must act strictly within the bounds of law and due process.
Despite the dissent, the majority decision prevailed, effectively terminating Jokolo’s legal challenge and cementing the reign of Muhammadu Ilyasu-Bashar as the Emir of Gwandu.
The apex court declined to award costs against the appellants.
