Bashiru Aminu, prince of Zazzau Emirate in Kaduna State, has filed a law suit to challenge the appointment of Ahmed Bamalli as the new emir..
Mr. Bamalli, who happened to be a former Nigerian ambassador to Thailand, was announced as the new emir by the Kaduna State Government on Wednesday.
Mr. Bamalli’s appointment was declared after the death of Shehu Idris, the former emir of Zazzau, who died on September 20, 2020, after reigning as emir for 45 years.
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It was revealed that Mr. Aminu, who holds the title of Iyan Zazzau, was ranked first in an initial list drafted and submitted to Governor Nasir El-Rufai by the five kingmakers of the emirate.
The state government, however, ditched the kingmakers’ report, stating allegations of inducement by one of the contenders.
The government later announced the appointment of Mr. Bamalli, following a new selection process among 13 princes, ordered by the state government.
Reacting to this, Mr. Aminu sued Mr. El-Rufai and nine others in the suit, seeking to repeal Mr. Bamalli’s appointment.
Aside Messrs El-Rufai and Bamalli, Mr Aminu also joined the Kaduna State Attorney General, Kaduna Council of Chiefs, Zazzau Emirate Council and the five kingmakers as parties to the suit.
Mr Aminu, hopes the court will validate the selection process of the Zazzau kingmakers which placed him ahead of two other princes and excluded Mr. Bamalli from the shortlist.
He maintained that the appointment of Mr. Bamalli breached Chiefs (Appointment and Depositions) Law Cap 21 of 1991.
He wants the court to pronounce the appointment as ‘irregular, illegal, unconstitutional, unjust inequitable and contrary to good conscience, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.’
He also asked the court to declare that he was ‘duly and properly selected/elected and appointed as the Emir of Zazzau (Zaria) by the traditional kingmakers of Zazzau in accordance with Zazzau Native Law, Custom and Tradition.’
He also wants the court to bar Mr. Bamalli from declaring himself as the emir of Zazzau and to stop the state government from proceeding with Mr. Bamalli’s coronation as the Zazzau emir.