Sanusi was taken to Awe in Nasarawa State and he has been detained in an apartment in the town after he was dethroned by the Kano State Government on Monday .
His team of lawyers led by Lateef Fagbemi (SAN ) , filed a suit marked FHC /ABJ / CS /357 /2020 before the Federal High Court in Abuja , according to reports .
He prayed for an interim order releasing him “from the detention and or confinement of the respondents and restoring the applicant ’ s rights to human dignity , personal liberty , freedom of association and movement in Nigeria , ( apart from Kano State ) pending the hearing and determination of the applicant ’ s originating summons . ”
The PUNCH reports that respondents to the application are the Inspector -General of Police , the Director -General of the Department of State Service , the Attorney- General of Kano State and the Attorney- General of the Federation .
The bill sponsored by a member of the Peoples Democratic Party from Plateau State, Senator Isfifanus Gyang, also prescribes National Diploma or its equivalent as the minimum qualification for federal and state lawmakers , according to reports .
The bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide for the amendment of Sections 65 (2 ) ( a ), and 131 ( d) .
It will also amend Section 106 ( c ) and Section 177 (d) on minimum education qualification for those seeking election into the State Assembly , Governor , National Assembly and office of the President .
The bill seeks the alteration of section 65 ( 2 ) ( a ) of the Constitution which deals with the qualifications for intending members of the National Assembly
The current law , which the bill seeks to amend reads , “ A person shall be qualified for election under subsection ( 1 ) of this section if he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent. ”
Section 65 (2 ) ( a ) has now been rephrased to read “ if he has been educated to at least a National Diploma level or its equivalent . ”
The bill also seeks the alteration of Section 131 (d) which deals with minimum requirements for anyone running for the office of the governor .
The current Section of the Constitution states that the person must have “ been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent” .
Section 131 (d) is now rephrased to read , “ He has been educated up to at least HND level or ’ its equivalent . ”
For House of Assembly, the bill seeks the alteration of section 106 (c ) of the Constitution .
The bill christened ‘ A Bill for an Act to prohibit/ ban the importation /use of generating sets to curb the menace of environmental ( air ) pollution and to facilitate the development of power sector ’ was sponsored by Senator Enagi Bima (APC – Niger ).
According to the bill, which passed first reading at plenary , “ Any person who imports generating sets; or knowingly sells generating sets shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not less than 10 years .
“ Provided that this subsection shall not apply to the importation or sale of any generating set to be used for essential services. ”
The ban , however , excluded essential services.
The bill added , “ The ban or prohibition of generating sets shall not include generating sets used for essential services which include Medical purposes ( hospitals and nursing homes and healthcare facilities ), airports, railway stations/services, elevators (lifts) , escalators , research Institutions, and such facilities that require 24 hours electric power supply. ”
“ Approval for exclusion shall be obtained from the Minister in charge of Power who shall brief the Federal Executive Council quarterly on approvals granted .
“ The bill further seeks that Nigerians should immediately stop the use of generating sets in order to curb the menace of environmental pollution, which leads to potential health hazards it poses to the whole nation.
“ All persons are hereby directed to stop the use of electricity generating sets which run on diesel /petrol /kerosene of all capacities with immediate effect in the country, ” it said .
Explaining the meaning of generating sets, the bill said , “a machine that is used for producing electricity .
“ This Bill seeks to ban the importation and use of generating sets ( generators) in the country and to curb the menace of environmental pollution which leads to potential health hazards it poses to the whole nation. ”
“ All such insinuations are untrue , malicious and politically – motivated” , it said in a statement by presidential media aide , Mr Garba Shehu .
The statement came a few hours after the former governor of Kano State , Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso , alleged that Buhari knew about the sacking of Sanusi .
Kwankwaso was quoted as speaking in an interview on the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation monitored in Kaduna .
However , the Presidency claimed Buhari has no history of involving himself in matters that were purely within the jurisdiction of state governments unless they had national security implications .
“ The President does not have a history of intervening in the affairs of any state in the country, unless the issue at hand is of national consequence. On such matters which impinge on national security , he has a duty of involvement as the law stipulates .
“ As outlined in the Constitution, the appointment or removal of emirs and other traditional leaders is strictly within the jurisdiction of state governments . It is unfair and disingenuous of opposition politicians to try to link the situation in Kano State to the federal government and the Nigerian President .
“ Although a retired general and former military Head of State , President Buhari clearly understands that under the current democratic dispensation , the government at the centre cannot read instructions or twist the arms of all or any of the 36 state governments making up the federation. They all have their powers specified under the Constitution , ” the Presidency added .
It said Buhari commended the people of Kano for remaining calm in the heat of the dethronement of the emir .
“ President Buhari commends the people of Kano for keeping calm in the past few days of the dethronement announcement.
“ He prays that the will of Allah will be done at all times and that the emirate/state and its people continue to experience progress irrespective of who is on the throne , ” it said .
A human rights organisation , the Muslim Rights Concern , has urged the National Youth Service Corps to postpone its ‘ Batch A’ orientation camp exercise due to the outbreak of coronavirus in Nigeria .
This was contained in a statement signed by the Director of the group , Prof . Ishaq Akintola .
The group said , “ Authorities of the NYSC on Sunday , March 8 , told prospective youth corp members not to panic over coronavirus outbreak .
“ According to NYSC , certain preventive measures have been put in place to prevent any outbreak of the virus in its 37 orientation camps nationwide .
“ But we express doubts over the wisdom behind the resolve of the NYSC to carry on with the orientation exercise in the face of the outbreak .
“ To be on the safe side, the exercise should be postponed by one or two months.
“ We are talking of 350, 000 skilled Nigerians . These are our children . They are the hope of this country . We should not put their lives at risk.
“ Events are being postponed across the world . Saudi Arabia, a highly conservative country, saw the wisdom in halting its annual Umrah ( lesser pilgrimage ). ”
The group said available records showed that coronavirus which originated in Wuhan , China , had killed more than 4 , 000 people and infected over 116 , 000 people across the world .
Man city vs Arsenal was postponed over coronavirus fears after Arsenal players met with Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis, who now has virus.
Arsenal said players and four staff had been isolated at their homes after coming into contact with the owner of Greek club Olympiakos , who has tested positive for COVID- 19 .
“ We are strictly following the government guidelines which recommend that anyone coming into close contact with someone with the virus should self – isolate at home for 14 days from the last time they had contact , ” an Arsenal statement said .
“ As a result , the players are unavailable for tonight ’ s ( Wednesday ’ s) match against Manchester City and the Premier League has decided the game should be postponed . ”
The first postponement in the Premier League , which has a worldwide following of billions of TV viewers , follows widespread disruption to football and other sports across the globe.
Arsenal were knocked out of the Europa League by Olympiakos in late February. Vangelis Marinakis, owner of the Greek club and England ’ s Nottingham Forest , announced on Tuesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus .
But Arsenal said the players and staff , who met Marinakis after the game at the Emirates Stadium , will return to work on Friday ahead of Saturday’ s trip to Brighton .
“ The medical advice we have received puts the risk of them developing COVID- 19 at extremely low , ” it added .
The Premier League called the move a “ precautionary measure ” and said there were no plans to postpone any other games.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health , Prof . Akin Abayomi , gave their names as Enwelunta Obumnore Godfrey ( Male ); and Salami Abiodun Sadeeq ( Male ).
The commissioner also said those who had been in contact with the secondary case of coronavirus will begin a 14 – day isolation process ,
HealthWise reports .
The secondary case of coronavirus was the individual who had direct contact with Nigeria ’ s index coronavirus case — a 44 – year- old Italian male who is currently quarantined at the Mainland Hospital , an infectious disease facility in Yaba , Lagos State .
The Commissioner for Health , Prof . Akin Abayomi , disclosed this at a press briefing on Monday at Alausa .
Abayomi said , “The secondary COVID- 19 patient has had contact with a few people and those contacts will begin a 14 – day isolation process .
“ As per our protocol , we have the capacity to test so that we can pick up whether any of those in isolation are turning positive and we have tested the 40 individuals in isolation in Ewekoro at the Lafarge factory because that was the group that had close contact with the index case .
“ Out of the 40 , we detected one positive and that individual happened to have spent a lot of time with the index case by virtue of his job .
“ That demonstrates the first transmission for the index case and the good news is that we have the individual under surveillance, so that significantly minimises the chance of transmission to a large number of people. ”
The commissioner also said the government was still in search of the remaining two passengers aboard the Turkish Airlines with the Italian coronavirus patient .
He appealed to the two individuals to reach out to the ministry .
“ Please we need to contact you and you need to be in touch with the Ministry of Health . We have been trying to reach you by the address you put on your forms and by the numbers but none of those numbers are working . it is vitally important that you reach out to us with the numbers that are generally available with the press – 08023169485 or 08033565529 or 08052817243 or to the Federal Ministry of Health or to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control . ”
Among the reasons stated were alleged insubordination , refusal to attend official meetings and breach of Kano Emirate Law , according to reports .
The Kano government made this known in a press statement signed by Secretary to the State Government, Usman Alhaji , announcing the removal of Sanusi .
Before the announcement , members of the Kano House of Assembly had engaged in a free- for -all over an attempt to remove the Emir .
The statement noted that Sanusi ’ s removal was a unanimous decision of members of the State Executive Council .
The statement read , “ The Kano State Executive Council under the Chairmanship of his Excellency , the Governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi GAnduje , has unanimously approved the immediate removal / dethronement of the Emir of Kano Emirate Muhammad Sanusi II .
“ The Emir of Kano is in total disrespect to lawful instructions from the office of the state Governor and other lawful authorities , including his persistent refusal to attend official meetings and programmes organised by the Government without any lawful justification which amounts to total insubordination .
“ It is on record and in so many instances Malam Muhammad Sanusi II has been found breaching part 3 Section 13 ( a – e ) of the Kano State Emirate Law 2019 and which if left unchecked will destroy the good and established image of Kano Emirate .
“ This removal is made after due consultation with the relevant stakeholders and in compliance with Part 3 Section 13 of the Kano State Emirate Law 2019 and other reasons stated above .
“ The removal was reached in order to safeguard the sanctity , culture , tradition , religion, and prestige of the Kano Emirate built over a thousand years . ”
The governor subsequently called on the public to remain calm , law -abiding and to go about their normal businesses .
The President of Nigeria , vice-president , governors and their deputies are currently protected by the nation’ s laws from criminal prosecution while in office .
However , the proposed legislation from the Senate seeks to change this , but excludes the President from the proposed legislation .
It is sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution , who is also the Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo – Agege .
It reads in part, “ To persons who hold the office of Vice- President , Governor or Deputy Governor.
“ If it is determined either by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission , Independent Corrupt Practices Commission , Nigeria Police and Department of State Services through a collaborative investigation that the said person is indicted by a court of competent jurisdiction for :
“( i ) Financial misappropriation of funds belonging to the Federal , State or Local Government; or
“( ii ) Sponsoring of thugs to perpetrate violence that cause injury or death of political opponent , a member of his family , agent or personal representative . ”
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