Fufore emirate: Adamawa govt, Fintiri lose bid to stay proceedings in Adamawa H/Court
A State High Court sitting in Yola has today rejected the application of Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri and the state government to stay proceedings of the case before it challenging the creation of Fufore emirate and went ahead to assume jurisdiction to entertain the legal suit instituted by three title holders of Adamawa emirate for the dissolution of the Fufore emirate.
In a landmark ruling today, Justice Musa Usman, the presiding judge, dismissed the applications of the governor and the purported emir, Alh. Sani Ribadu, through their defense counsel who prayed the court to stay proceedings on the suit pending the determination of the appeals they filed at the Court of Appeal Yola Division challenging the jurisdiction of the High Court to entertain the suit in the first instance.
The judge dismissed their applications on the ground that the balance of probability favours the plaintiffs and not the defendants. The judge argued that their applications are frivolous aimed at halting the hearing and determining the suit, stating that the defendants can always appeal the matter at the final determination of case before him. “When I deliver my final judgment, you can always exercise your right of appeal”.
Justice Usman then fixed 5th and 6th of October to start hearing the substantive case when the plaintiff counsels are expected to present their witnesses.
The plaintiffs’ counsel, Manga Nurudeen, SAN, commended the Court for making the right decision of dismissing the defense lawyers application. He maintains that: “the defense have no case, and they know it. Instead of them to advise the government to dissolve the Fufore emirate as a mistake and apologize to the people of the state, they became embroiled in trying to use technicalities of court to obstruct the cause of justice”.
The defense counsels had earlier filed an appeal at the court of appeal challenging the jurisdiction of the high court to entertain the suit even when no ruling or judgment was made by the trial court, making it impossible for them to transmit the case records till the expiration of the mandatory 60 days to do so.
During the last sitting Justice Usman fixed today for ruling on the two motions bothering on stay of proceedings brought by the defense counsel of the governor and the emir for determination on whether the trial court could continue with the case for which jurisdiction is a crucial decider.
The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Adamawa State, Afraimu K. Jingi, who also serves as the lead defense counsel to the Adamawa State Government, has expressed dissatisfaction with the way the court has handled their preliminary objection challenging its jurisdiction.
“We have always maintained that the court must first determine whether it has jurisdiction before proceeding further. In law, any proceedings carried out without jurisdiction are a nullity. We don’t want to waste the court’s time or our own time,”
According to him, the state government had hoped that the court would rule promptly on their objection before delving into the substantive suit.
“But instead, the court decided to defer the ruling and allow it to be taken alongside the main judgment after evidence has been taken. We opposed that and have since filed an appeal,” Jingi said.
“The plaintiffs wanted the case to proceed, but we insist that the jurisdictional issue must be addressed first,” he said.
It is this position of the defense that the court dismissed today as lacking in merit and fixed 5th and 6th October to commence substantive trial.
*Background to the Dispute*
The ongoing legal tussle was triggered by the Adamawa State government’s decision to create the Fufore Emirate – an action that has sparked heated debate and divided opinions across the state. The plaintiffs in the case, Musa Halilu Ahmed (Dujima Adamawa), Alh. Mustapha Dahiru Mustapha (Yeriman Adamawa) and Alh. Mustapha Ahmad (Sarkin Noma Adamawa) are prominent traditional stakeholders who have approached the court to nullify the creation of the new emirate.
They argue that the creation of Fufore Emirate breached the newly enacted Adamawa State Chief’s Appointment and Deposition law and undermines the cultural heritage, historical lineage and territorial integrity of the existing Adamawa Emirate.
The state government, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, Attorney General and the newly installed Emir of Fufore, Muhammad Sani Ribadu, are listed as defendants in the suit.
In earlier proceedings, the plaintiff’s counsel, Manga Nuruddeen (SAN), had sought time to respond to a cross-affidavit filed by the state government, citing the late filing of the defense’s brief of argument. He argued that the suit applications should be struck out on the grounds of improper constitution and maintained that the matter was not ripe for reference to the Court of Appeal.
