Plot to Remove Sultan of Sokoto: Tension as Court Issues Major Restraint
- Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto state has been issued a restrained order by the state high court over the appointment of removal of district heads
- Justice Kabiru Ahmed issued the order to the state governor, pending the hearing of the interlocutory injunction before his court
- This revelation was made amid the report that the state government was plotting to remove the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III
The Sokoto state high court has reportedly granted an ex-parte order to restrain the state government from removing or appointing new district heads till the hearing of the interlocutory injunction before it.
A court document reportedly disclosed the development amid controversy over the state government’s plot to remove the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III.
Court retrained Sokoto government from appointing or removing district heads
Photo Credit: @AhmedaliyusktSource: Twitter
Sokoto assembly plot to strip Sultan
Earlier, it was reported that the Sokoto State House of Assembly had passed the second reading of the Sokoto Emirate Council Amendment Bill.
If the bill is passed into law, it would strip the Sultan of Sokoto of the power to unilaterally appoint kingmakers and district heads without the state government’s approval, among other authorities.
According to Daily Nigerian, a court document indicated that Justice Kabiru Ahmed ordered the injunction on June 13, 2024, in a suit filed by Buhari Tambuwal and Abubakar Kassim, the district heads of Tambuwal and Kebbe.
Judge orders Sokoto to maintain status quo
Justice Ahmed mandated the defendants and their agents, privies, representatives or servants to maintain the status quo ante bellum and order the suspension of any move to dethrone or remove any district head in the state.
Governor Ahmed Aliyu, the Sokoto state attorney general, and the Sultanate Councils are defendants in suit numbers SS/M.293/202 and SS/M.290/2024.
Governor Aliyu had in April 2024 sacked 15 district heads for various offences.
However, in an affidavit, evidence, and written addresses presented before the court, the plaintiffs argued that they were removed from office without being given a fair hearing.
Sultan of Sokoto speaks on banditry
TheTalk.NG earlier reported that the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Saad Abubakar III, disclosed that it would take decades for the northwest region to defeat banditry.
The president of the NSCIA then called for a collective effort to fight the region’s menace while reiterating the traditional rulers’ commitment to the fight.
Source: TheTalk.NG
