A Zamfara State High Court in Gusau has dismissed the suit filed by the dethroned Emir of Maru in the Maru Local Government Area of the state, Abubakar Ibrahim, to challenge his dethronement as well as his detention in the Government House, Gusau for 11 months.
The deposed Emir had, in the suit, which had the Inspector-General of Police and five others as defendants, demanded N5.6bn damages for what he described as his illegal removal and detention.
But in his judgment on Friday, Justice Bello Shinkafi dismissed the Emir’s case, saying it lacked merit.
Justice Bello said the arrest of the dethroned Emir by security agents and keeping him in Government House did not violate the constitutional provisions.
According to the judge, the country’s constitution “gives powers to security agents to arrest and detain anybody who violates the laws.”
The judge said the dethroned Emir’s detention in the Government House for 11 months was “for his own security”.
The judge ruled, “He was given administrative bail and kept at the Government House to avoid being lynched by his subjects who were aggrieved by his association with the bandits.
“The applicant has committed a capital offence and could not satisfy the court, as such the case his hereby dismissed.”
