Headlines
We’ll Challenge Sanusi’s Dethronement, Detention, Forced Exile in Court – Lawyers
The immediate past Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II’s lawyers on Tuesday vowed to challenge his banishment and detention by the Kano State Government.
Sanusi’s legal team led by a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abubakar Balarabe-Mahmoud, at a press conference in Kano, said government should release Sanusi or face a legal action. They also raised the alarm over the deposed Emir’s personal safety and security.
The lawyers stated that they had not been able to speak to Sanusi since Monday, adding that the location of the place where the deposed Emir was being detained was meant to cause him “maximum trauma and distress.”
Sanusi, who became the 14th Emir of Kano on June 8, 2014, was dethroned on Monday by the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and banished to Nasarawa State.
The Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, who announced Sanusi’s deposition and the appointment of Alhaji Aminu Bayero as his successor, said the immediate past Emir was removed because of “total disrespect to lawful instructions from the office of the state governor.”
At 5:36pm on Monday, the Emir was forced out of the palace from where he was taken to Loko in the Nasarawa Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Criticising the treatment being meted out to Sanusi, the lawyers, at the press conference, said, “We have not spoken to the Emir since yesterday (Monday), but we understand that they are at their destination somewhere in a remote part of Nassarawa State after driving for nearly seven hours in the night and arriving about 2am today.
“We understand that the choice of the location to detain Muhammadu Sanusi II was intended to cause maximum trauma and distress. This again is illegal and unconstitutional.
“According to instructions we received from the Emir through his chief of staff, we are directed to take legal action to challenge the legality of the Emir’s detention and banishment.
“We are of the firm view that this action is illegal and unconstitutional. Section 35 of our constitution guarantees every citizen the right to personal liberty. The bases of the denial of personal liberty are set out clearly in this Section of the Constitution. None applies to the case of the Emir.”
The lawyers said the archaic practice of banishment of deposed Emirs, a colonial practice, had no basis in the country’s constitution.
They said, “The illegality of such a practice was pronounced by the Nigerian Court of Appeal in Attorney General Kebbi State v. the former emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Al-Mustapha Jakolo, and ors 2013 LPELR 22349/CA where the court pronounced it as illegal and unconstitutional gross violation of the rights of the Emir.
Headlines
Abiola Cannot Be Recognised As Former President; He Was Never Sworn-in – Gen Ishola Williams
By Eric Elezuo
One of the prime actors of the June 12, 1993 incidents, General Ishola Williams, has said that much as Chief MKO Abiola wrong was created having won the election, and denied victory, he cannot be recognized as a former President of Nigeria.
Gen Williams made his revelation while speaking as a guest on Channels television socio-political programme, Inside Source.
He maintained that only those who were sworn in that recognised as former presidents, and Abiola was never sworn in.
“Abiola cannot be recognised as former president because he was never sworn in.
The General, who said that he resigned from the army as a result of the wholesome reception given to General Sani Abacha, when he overthrew Chief Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government, contrary to expectation, also picked flaws in the narratives given by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, in his recently launched book, A Journey In Service.
Williams rose in the army to become the Commandant of Army Signals, Commander of Training and Doctrine (TRADOC) and Chief of Defence Training and Planning, from where he resigned.
Headlines
Breaking: Supreme Court Recognises Martin Amaewhule As Rivers Assembly Speaker, Orders CBN to Stop Releasing Funds to State
By Eric Elezuo
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has in its ruling on Friday recognised Hon Martins Amaewhule as the authentic speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, mandating him to urgently resume sitting with elected members of the assembly.
The apex court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to stop releasing to the Rivers State government until a proper assembly is constituted.
Details soon…
Tension escalated at the Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday as impeached Speaker Mudashiru Obasa made a dramatic return to reclaim his position.
Accompanied by heavily armed men, Obasa stormed the Assembly complex in a bold move that has thrown the State’s legislature into turmoil.
In a stunning turn of events, security details assigned to the substantive Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mojisola Meranda, were abruptly withdrawn on Thursday morning, clearing the path for Obasa’s controversial comeback.
Sources revealed that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) ordered the withdrawal of all security operatives attached to Meranda, leaving her exposed in the midst of an intensifying power struggle.
The Speaker’s Special Adviser on Information, Mr. Victor Ganzallo, expressed concern over the security vacuum created by the withdrawal of personnel.
“In the early hours of Thursday, we woke up to the startling news that all security details assigned to Madam Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, had been withdrawn.
This includes the police and DSS officers, leaving her exposed to threats amid the ongoing speakership crisis,” Ganzallo stated.
He further called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as the State’s Chief Security Officer, to intervene urgently to prevent a complete breakdown of law and order within the Assembly.
“The withdrawal of security personnel has left the Assembly naked and vulnerable at a critical time. Urgent action is needed to restore order,” he pleaded.
With the speakership battle taking a dramatic new turn, political watchers are keenly observing how the crisis will unfold in the coming days.
