Crime
Sanusi Stays As Emir, Kano Government Reacts To Court Ruling
Sanusi Stays As Emir, Kano Government Reacts To Court Ruling
Sanusi stays as Emir, Kano Government reacts to court ruling. Kano State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Haruna Isa Dederi, has clarified that the recent ruling by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, does not invalidate the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano.
He made the clarification while speaking to journalists on Friday, Dederi said that the Court of Appeal had already affirmed the Kano State Government’s authority to reinstate Sanusi in a landmark ruling on January 10, 2025.
He stated that it is impossible for the same court to overturn its own decision, adding that only the Supreme Court has the power to do so.
His statement came in response to Friday’s ruling by the Court of Appeal on an application for a stay of execution filed by Alhaji Aminu Baba Dan Agundi, a kingmaker loyal to the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero. The appeal seeks to suspend the implementation of the ruling until the Supreme Court delivers its judgment.
Dederi explained that the Court of Appeal’s ruling simply maintains the current status quo until the Supreme Court decides on the matter. He stressed that the January 10 judgment remains valid and has not been quashed.
“The Appeal Court today, after hearing their application for a stay of execution, ruled that the status quo should rather be maintained as it is now, until after the judgment of the Supreme Court. The have filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.
“It doesn’t mean that the judgment delivered on January 10, 2025, has been quashed. That judgment is still standing and still in place and subsisting.
The Court of Appeal cannot reverse its own decision. It is not possible. It is only a supreme Court that has the power to set aside the judgment given by a lower court,” Dederi stated.
Sanusi II was originally dethroned as Emir of Kano on March 9, 2020, by the administration of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. His removal was attributed to alleged insubordination and conflicts with the state government.
Following his dethronement, he was banished to Nasarawa State. However, in May 2024, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf repealed the Kano State Emirate Council Law 2019, which had split the Kano Emirate into five smaller emirates. This paved the way for Sanusi’s reinstatement as the sole Emir of Kano, reversing the previous administration’s decision.
Sanusi Stays As Emir
It will be recalled that on January 10, 2025, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, led by Justice Mohammad Mustapha, nullified an earlier ruling by the Federal High Court in Kano, which had invalidated the Kano State Government’s actions under the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024. This ruling upheld Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s reappointment as Emir.
However, Dan Agundi challenged the verdict at the Supreme Court and also sought a stay of execution to delay its enforcement until the apex court delivers its final ruling.
EFCC Arraigns 2 Chinese Nationals, Nigerian For Cyber Crimee In Lagos
EFCC arraigns 2 Chinese nationals, Nigerian for cyber crimee in Lagos. EFCC alleged that they engaged in this foreign exchange without going through the official foreign exchange market authorised by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) on Monday dragged a Nigerian, two Chinese nationals, and their company before the Federal High Court in Lagos over alleged multibillion-naira cybercrime.
The defendants Huang Haoyu, Friday Audu, An Hongxu and a company, Gentting International Ltd., are standing trial before Justice Daniel Osiagor on a 12-count charge of cybercrime.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecutor, Bilikisu Buhari, told the court that the defendants committed the offences sometime in 2024 in Lagos.
Ms Buhari said the defendants allegedly conspired among themselves to commit the offences with one Dualiang Pan, who is now at large.
She said the defendants allegedly willfully caused to be assessed computer systems organised to destabilise Nigeria’s economic structure.
Ms Buhari also said the defendants allegedly procured Nigerian youths to falsely represent themselves as persons of foreign nationalities.
They were alleged to have procured one Chukwuemeka Okeke to retain $1.2 million in his crypto wallet, which they ought to know forms part of fraudulent activities.
They were alleged to have also procured one Alhassan Garba and Ifesinaci Jacobs to retain $1.3 million in their crypto wallet, being proceeds of crime.
They were also alleged to have retained in the Union Bank account of Gentting International Ltd the sum of N3.4 billion, which also forms part of the proceeds of their fraudulent activities.
The prosecutor alleged that they transferred, among others, N106 million and N913 million to Mr Dualiang’s UBA account, which also forms the proceeds of their fraudulent activities.
The transfer and several other transfers were said to be made from Gentting Ltd.
Besides, the defendants were said to have illegally negotiated a foreign exchange transaction with one Alhassan Garba to the dollar equivalent of N1.1 billion, N962 million, and other sums.
EFCC alleged that they engaged in this foreign exchange without going through the official foreign exchange market authorised by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Court
All monies are said to have formed part of the proceeds of their fraudulent activities.
She said the offences contravened section 29(2) of the Foreign Exchange Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2004.
It also contravenes sections 18 and 27 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition) Act 2015, as well as sections 18(2)(d) and 21(c) of the Money Laundering Act 2021.
The court adjourned the case until March 20 to hear the defendants’ bail application.
The judge ordered the defendants to be remanded in EFCC’s custody pending bail.
Cross River Lawmakers Invites Commissioner Over Alleged Illegal Levies
Cross River lawmakers invites commissioner over alleged illegal levies. The House described the imposition of illegal levies by the ministry as double taxation.
The Cross River House of Assembly has invited the state commissioner for environment over alleged illegal levies imposed on truck drivers.
The House took the decision following a complaint made during the house session on Monday by Okon Owuna, the member representing Akamkpa I in the assembly.
Mr Owuna said that the levy tagged “Cross River Evacuation Permit” was imposed by the Ministry of Environment on trucks hauling granite from quarries in Akamkpa.
The lawmaker said that the levy was illegal, and not approved by the Cross River Internal Revenue Service.
“This levy is not also backed by the state Revenue Administration Law passed by the State Assembly,” he said.
He further said that the collection of the illegal levies had caused serious hardship on truck drivers as well as business owners in the area.
“This has led to the withdrawal of their trucks to quarries in neighbouring states; this trend should be stopped to preserve the good image of the state.
“If this trend is not checked, it is capable of destroying the hard-earned reputation and good image that Governor Bassey Otu has built for the state,” he said.
Other lawmakers who spoke on the matter described the imposition of illegal levies by the ministry as double taxation.
Cross River Lawmakers
The speaker, Elvert Ayambem, condemned the act and said that the commissioner of environmental and chairman of the Internal Revenue Service should appear before the house.
Mr Ayambem said the invitation of the two government officials would enable the House to adequately understand the issue and proffer lasting solutions.
EFCC Arrests TikTok Influencer, Murja Kunya for Alleged Naira Mutilation In Kano
EFCC arrests TikTok influencer, Murja Kunya for alleged Naira Mutilation in Kano. Operatives of the Kano Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission , EFCC, have arrested popular TikTok influencer, Murja Ibrahim Kunya, for allegedly abusing and mutilating the Naira.
Specifically, Kunya was arrested for allegedly spraying Naira notes for fun during her stay in a hotel room at Tahir Guest Palace in Kano.
The arrest followed her diligent pursuit by EFCC operatives after she jumped an administrative bail granted her by the Commission over one month ago.
She was initially arrested in January 2025 for violating the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, Act which prohibits the abuse and mutilation of the Naira.
She was granted an administrative bail by the Commission pending her arraignment before the Federal High Court in Kano.
However, when it was time for her court appearance, Kunya absconded, evading the legal processes.
However, after weeks of intensive investigation and surveillance, EFCC operatives successfully re-arrested the TikTok Influencer on Sunday March 16, 2025.
Murja Kunya
She was subsequently conveyed to the Kano Zonal Directorate of the Commission, where she is currently in custody awaiting her arraignment.
The EFCC reiterates its commitment to enforcing laws protecting the integrity of the Nigerian currency and warned against acts of abuse including spraying, stamping, or mutilating the currency during social events.
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