The Supreme Court, has on Wednesday, sacked Al-Mustapha Jokolo as the Emir of Gwandu in Kebbi State.
A five-member panel of the apex court, in a split decision of three to two, nullified a Kebbi State High Court judgement that reinstated Jokolo as the 19th Emir of Gwandu.
In its majority judgement, the Supreme Court held that the sacked Emir failed to exhaust the mandatory domestic dispute resolution mechanism prescribed by law, before he took the matter to court.
It held that failure of the deposed Emir to fulfill the condition precedent, invalidated the outcome of his case.
In the lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court stressed that Jokolo ought to have complied with Section 5(4) of the Kebbi State Chiefs (Appointment and Deposition) Law, which stipulated that a formal complaint must be submitted to the Governor before such litigation could be commenced.
It held that there was no evidence to show that a pre-action notice was served on the Governor of Kebbi State, a mandatory step before such case could be filed.
Consequently, the apex court agreed with the Appellants that Jokolo’s failure to seek a resolution through administrative channels, rendered his suit incompetent.
It held that the procedural lapse equally deprived the lower courts of jurisdiction, to meddle in the dispute.
It, therefore, nullified the entire proceedings and judgments of both the trial court and the Court of Appeal.
However, in the dissenting minority judgment that was delivered by Justice Ibrahim Salami, the apex court affirmed decisions of the lower courts, stressing that Kebbi state governor failed to act in accordance with the law and due process.
Dissatisfied with his removal, Jokolo approached the Kebbi State High Court to be reinstated.
In its judgement in 2014, the high court ruled in the favour of the plaintiff, a decision that was upheld by the Court of Appeal, Sokoto Division, in 2016.
The two lower courts ordered his reinstatement.
Nevertheless, both the Kebbi State Government and the current Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Muhammadu Ilyasu-Bashar, challenged the verdict at the Supreme Court, where they won on Wednesday.
Reacting to the judgement, Jokolo’s lawyer, Sylvester Imhanobe, said they would not apply for judicial review as he (Jokolo) had accepted the verdict in good faith.
But Imhanobe said he was surprised that the majority decision relied heavily on Section 4 of the Chiefs (Appointment and Deposition) Law of Kebbi State when their case centred on Section 6, which does not require a pre-action complaint, since it was not about the selection of a new king.
“Our case was on deposition, which is the Section 6 of the Section 4 of the Chiefs (Appointment and Deposition) Law, but theirs is Section 4 of the law; we did not go near Section 4,” he said.
Jokolo has urged his supporters to be calm and see the judgement as the will of God.
Jokolo’s aide, who relayed the message, said though Jokolo was inside the house performing zuhr prayer, it was not the right time to speak.
