Court restrains Kano Assembly from amending laws on pension, judicial fund management

The speaker and members of the Kano State House Assembly have been ordered by a Kano State High Court to halt their efforts to amend the Kano State Judiciary Funds Management Law 2022, the Kano State Pension and Gratuity Amendment Law, 2023, and the Kano State House of Assembly Service Commission Amendment Law 2021, while the motion is being heard and decided upon.

Judge Usman Mallam Na’Abba of the Kano State High Court granted the ex parte order after considering the application of M. I. Umar, the applicant’s counsel, and a 19-paragraph affidavit that was duly sworn to by Sule Aliyu and Muntari Rabiu, the chairman and secretary respectively of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria’s Kano State branch.

“An order of interim injunction is hereby granted restraining the third to seventh respondents and other members of the third respondents from further deliberating and proceeding with respect to the proposed bills.

“An order of interim injunction is hereby granted, restraining the third to seventh respondents and other honourable members of the third respondent to maintain the status quo and stay further action in respect of the bills for the amendment pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice,” the judge ordered.

The respondents in the suit are the governor of Kano State, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the Kano State House of Assembly, the speaker, the deputy speaker, the majority leader and the minority leader.