A Kaduna State High Court on Tuesday adjourned ruling on jurisdiction in a suit filed by a former kingmaker of Zazzau Emirate, Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Aminu, seeking the dethronement of the 19th Emir of Zazzau, Ahmed Bamalli.
The former kingmaker, who participated in the appointment process of the Emir, had dragged the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and 13 others to the state High Court, seeking the removal of Bamalli as the Emir of Zazzau.
Among the 13 other respondents in the case were the Emir, Bamalli, and the late Limamin Kona, Malam Sani Aliyu, who died in July 2021.
Bamalli, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Thailand, was appointed the 19th Emir of Zazzau on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 by Governor Nasir El-Rufai outside the recommendation made to him by the Zazzau Emirate Kingmakers.
Aminu, who held the position of Wazirin Zazzau, a title that qualified him as one of the kingmakers, is seeking nullification of the appointment of Amb. Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli and his removal as the Emir of Zazzau.
Counsels for the respondents had filed preliminary objections before the High Court 4 presided over by Justice Isah Aliyu, saying that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the case, even as the plaintiff lacks the locus standi to challenge the Emir’s appointment and enthronement.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the court session, counsel for the Zazzau Emirate and the Emir, Abdul Ibrahim, SAN, said they were challenging the locus standi of the plaintiff to institute the case because “he is not a member of any of the Zazzau’s ruling houses and he did not contest the Emirship position.”
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