UGOCHUKWU ANTHONY OGAKWU, JCA (Delivering the Leading Judgement): The facts of this matter are not convoluted. They are simple and straightforward and are amenable to easy comprehension. Indeed, the facts are not confuted. The Appellant is a cattle herder and he was arrested sometime in 2001 on an allegation of armed robbery. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed before a Chief Magistrates Court and the Appellant was remanded in prison custody. He remained in such custody without being formally arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction for the next ten years. It was only on 12th October, 2011 when the Chief Judge of the High Court of Kano State was on a prison visit that he ordered that the Appellant be released on bail.
On 30th December 2011, an application was filed in SUIT NO. K/M715/2011: MUHAMMAD SANI v. ATTORNEY-GENERAL KANO STATE and ANOR; for the enforcement of the Appellant’s fundamental rights. The Appellant claimed the following reliefs:
“1. DECLARATION of thi…