Justice Rilwanu Aikawa of the Federal High Court, Kaduna, has dismissed a suit filed by members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Al-Manar Education and Development Foundation, of the popular Al-Manar Juma’at Mosque in Kaduna, challenging their suspension by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
The trial judge struck out the suit, holding that it was wrongly instituted as a fundamental human rights application.
According to the court, the issues raised by the applicants did not fall within the scope of enforceable fundamental rights and therefore lacked merit.
The trustees had approached the court seeking to set aside their suspension by the CAC, arguing that the action was carried out without affording them fair hearing.
However, the court rejected the argument and declined jurisdiction under the fundamental rights procedure.
Speaking to journalists after the judgment, counsel to the applicants, Mas’ud Alabelewe, Esq., said the trustees had gone to court believing their right to fair hearing had been breached.
He noted that the court took a different position and added that his clients had applied for the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to enable them study it and determine their next line of action.
Alabelewe hinted that an appeal was being considered, saying, “When we obtain and thoroughly review the judgment, we will advise our clients appropriately.”
Reacting separately, the sixth applicant and a suspended BoT member, Alhaji Aliyu Moddibo, said the trustees were likely to approach the Court of Appeal after studying the full judgment.
He described the dispute as an effort to protect what he termed a community-owned mosque and school from alleged vested interests seeking a “hostile takeover,” insisting that the trustees had invested time, resources and expertise in building the foundation without personal financial benefit.
When contacted, the Chief Imam, Sheikh Tukur Adam Al-Manar, said the mosque was part of a Da’awah project and was handed over to him by the founders.
Cov/Adamu Yusuf
