Zaria court again stops el-Rufa’i from sacking district heads

Another Kaduna State High Court sitting in Zaria has stopped Kaduna State Governor Nasiru el-Rufa’i and his government from sacking 4,766 district and village heads in the state pending the determination of the motion on notice.

Justice B.F. Zubairu handed down the order on June 28 directing parties to the suit to maintain the status quo ante prior to issuance of letters MLG/CA/45/427 and MLG/CA/45/462 dated June 7 and June 12, 2017 respectively to the plaintiffs. A high court sitting in Kafanchan had earlier issued a similar order stopping el-Rufa’i from sacking the district heads.

Three of the affected district heads had taken the state government to court in Zaria. They are Alhaji Lawal Iro, Magajin Malam Zazzau and district head of Samaru; Alhaji Falalu Umaru, Mahayin Zazzau and district head of Dutsen Abba and Alhaji Isah Sulaiman, Danmalikin Zazzau and district head of Nasarawan Doya. They jointly sued Governor el-Rufa’i, Attorney General of Kaduna State, Commissioner for Local Governments, Kaduna State Council of Emirs and Chiefs and Kaduna State House of Assembly.

Justice Zubairu also issued an order “restraining the defendants, their agents, servants, privies or anyone, task force, committee, ministry or howsoever described acting on the instruction or directive of the defendants from acting on the directives contained in the letters and or circulars or taking any step whatsoever to fill any of the offices of the plaintiffs as District Heads or doing any other thing whatsoever to give effect to the said letters” that removed the district heads.