BY Suzan Edeh

Bauchi-The Sayawa council of Elders and traditional rulers in Bauchi, have dragged the state government to court over the citing of the headquarters of the Sawaya chiefdom at Martin Giji, instead of Tafawa Balewa, their ancestral home.

The suit with number BA/191/2011, was filed at the State High Court, by Mr. Bukata Zhyadi, Mr. Ahud Simon, Captain, Daniel Dodo, rtd, and Gung Iliya on behalf of Sawaya ethnic nationality.

They sued the state governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda and 10 others, including the State House of Assembly.

In the suit filed by their counsel, Pius Akubu, SAN, the plaintiffs sought an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants/respondents and their agents or privies, acting on their instruction from implementing the provisions of the recent law creating the Sawaya Chiefdom with the districts and village areas, pending the final determination of the substantive suit.

The Plaintiffs are also seeking an order, restraining the defendants/respondents from appointing districts and village heads in the new districts and in Bauchi, particularly the new Sayawa Chiefdom, pending the final determination of the substantive suit and for any such further orders, that the court may deem.

They further asked the court to make a declaration that the failure of the state governor to assent to the two bills within thirty days, upon presentation to him by the state House of Assembly, had rendered them (bills) null and void and liable to be set aside just as they requested the court to declare that the arbitrary location of the headquarters of the Sawaya Chiefdom at Martin Giji, temporally, vide section 9 of the law creating the ‘’Chiefdom, instead of Tafawa Balewa town, the ancestral headquarters of the Sayawa people is inappropriate, unlawful, illegal and is against the wishes of Sayawa people .’’