Court Nullifies Appointment Of 77 District Heads In Kaduna

A high Court in Zaria, Kaduna State, has nullified the appointment by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of 77 district heads in the state.

 The court ordered the former district heads sacked by the governor to go back to their respective districts, until the court disposes off the case.

Justice Kabir Dabo in his ruling, said there was no constitutional rights to tamper with judicial matters, despite the notice served, ordering that the issue of the district heads’ dismissal was before the court.

He held that it was lack of respect to the court order for El-Rufai to have appointed the 77 district heads, while the case of dismissal was before the court.

The judge said the governor must obey the court order on the district heads’ sacking, and adjourned the case till January 16, 2019 for the continuation of hearing.

Counsel to the plaintiff, Yemi Adekunle, commended the ruling of Justice Dabo, saying the court has done justice by considering their application. When contacted, the state counsel, Abdurrahaman Suleiman Haladu, refused to talk to journalists on the ground that he was not authorised to talk to the press.

Meanwhile, a former Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Prof. Oshita Osang has explained why crises persist in Kaduna State. He identified the deteriorating moral values, drug abuse, youth unemployment and negative peer pressure as reasons for recurring crises.

He spoke at a high level roundtable on “Strategies for Traditional/Ethnic and Religious Leaders to Contribute Effectively to Peaceful Coexistence and Sustainable Development in Multi-Ethnic and Multi-Religious Community in Nigeria,” organised by Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Kaduna.

Osang lamented poor peer pressure and the nonchalant attitude of government towards policies that integrate the society, and degrading family values.He called for the apprehension and prosecution of people found culpable of stoking violent conflicts in Nigeria to deter others.

According to him: “Violent conflict is preventable, but can only be achieved by strategic mechanism that can detect early signs that a violent conflict is likely to occur for some reasons. Resident Representative of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in Nigeria, Dr. Vladimir Kreck, said the dialogue was aimed at searching for a sustainable solution to peace in the state.

“The promotion of peace among populations is one of the core mandates of the KAS. Peace is a requirement for the functioning of every democratic system,” he said.

Emir of Zazzau, Shehu Idris, urged religious and traditional leaders to preach peace, love, unity and tolerance.