The lack of service of court processes on Tuesday stalled a hearing in the Kano emirship tussle.

The police commissioner in Kano could not serve court papers to the 15th emir of Kano, Aminu Ado-Bayero, and four other litigants.

The applicants in the matter are Kano’s attorney general, speaker of the Kano House of Assembly, the assembly, through their counsel Ibrahim Isah-Wangida, filed a motion ex parte dated May 27.

The applicants are seeking the court to restrain Mr Ado-Bayero and four other dethroned emirs of Bichi, Rano, Gaya, and Karaye, namely Nasiru Ado-Bayero, Ibrahim Abubakar II, Kabiru Muhammad-Inuwa, and Aliyu Ibrahim-Gaya, from parading themselves as emirs.

Others are the inspector general of police, the director of the State Security Service, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Nigerian Army.

When the case came up for hearing, Abdulsalam Saleh, counsel to the inspector general of police, told the court that all attempts to serve the first to fifth respondents failed.

“My lord, we filed an affidavit of service. We have done our best to ensure service was made on all the five emirates but could not get to them. There was an order from the Federal High Court restraining the police from arresting, intimidating or harassing the respondents that was why we could not serve them,” Mr Saleh said.

Counsel to the applicants, Eyitayo Fatogun, applied for another date to enable them to file all necessary applications for service on the respondents.

Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu said, “The sixth respondent could not have refused to serve the respondents because there is an order stopping them from arresting or intimidating the five Emirates. As far as the law is concerned, you are only serving them papers, the earlier order can not stop you. How can you give protection to the first respondent and say you were unable to serve him.”

She adjourned the matter until June 24 for a hearing in the motion on notice.

The court granted an order of interim injunction on May 27 restraining the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth respondents, themselves, servants, and privies, from parading themselves as Emirs in the interest of peace in Kano.

The court also ordered that the five emirs be served through the office of the police commissioner.

On May 23, the Kano parliament dissolved all four newly created Emirate councils, and Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf reappointed Lamido Sanusi as the Emir of Kano.

(NAN)