By Newsdiaryonline
Nigeria’s Supreme Court has adjourned a 16-year old case, which is awaiting the apex court verdict on a 2016 Sokoto Court of Appeal judgment to November 2023.
The development is coming barely a week after both President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo decried incessant delays in justice delivery.
The Supreme Court also took the unprecedented step of suspending its scheduled motion/hearing on the case to await the Sokoto Court of Appeal decision on a fresh motion filed before it on the matter, thereby waiving the priority accorded courts of superior jurisdiction over lower courts.
The apex court took the decisions on November 29, 2021 when Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, instead of taking a motion on substitution of deceased kingmakers/hearing on the appeal filed by Kebbi state government against the Sokoto Court of Appeal, which nullified the deposition of 19th Emir of Gwandu, AlMustapha Jokolo and ordered his reinstatement as far back as April 2016, opted to suspend its proceedings while the Court of Appeal, Sokoto decides on a fresh appeal filed by one of the appellants.
Justices on the panel were Olukayode Ariwoola, Amina Augie, John Okoro, Abdu Aboki and Emmanuel Agim.
The court was to hear a motion for substitution of the names of deceased kingmakers in the three appeals marked SC2/2013 (Attorney-General of Kebbi State and others against Alhaji Mustapha Haruna Jokolo); SC314/2016 (Alhaji Muhammadu Iliyasu Bashar against Alhaji Mustapha Haruna Jokolo & anor); and SC266/2017 (Governor of Kebbi State and others against Alhaji Mustapha Haruna Jokolo), which briefs for the appeals were filed in 2019 and consolidated.
When Justice Ariwoola enquired to know which of the three appeals the panel would hear, so that judgement on it would be binding on the two other appeals, Yakubu Maikyau SAN, counsel for the Governor of Kebbi State, informed the panel that he has an appeal challenging jurisdiction at the Court of Appeal Sokoto Division.
