Court to hear defamation suit against Emir of Zazzau over RFI interview

A section of the Zazzau royal family has dragged the Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli, before the Kaduna State High Court over an interview he granted to Radio France Internationale (RFI), alleging that a leaked succession information was leaked to their late father.

Recall, their late father was earlier announced by the kingmaker to have emerged as the new Emir following the death of the late Emir Shehu Idris.

However, Nasiru Bashari Aminu, son of the late Iyan Zazzau, Bashari Aminu, had filed a suit before the court alleging defamation.

In his petition, Nasiru had alleged that the Emir falsely suggested during the RFI interview that confidential details of the succession process had been leaked to his late father by the then-Wazirin Zazzau, Alhaji Ibrahim Aminu.

He told the court that the family insist the remarks of the monarch were false, defamatory, and an assault on the dignity and memory of the late father, who was a Prince of the emirate.

The case has been slated for hearing on November 4, 2025, at the Zaria Judicial Division of the High Court of Kaduna State.

The Emir now faces two separate suits arising from the same interview. In addition to Dr Nasiru’s case, former Wazirin Zazzau, Alhaji Ibrahim Aminu, has also sued the Emir for defamation, challenging his description of him as “arrogant” and for insinuating that he leaked sensitive information during the 2020 succession battle.

The suits, brought by two of the emirate’s most senior figures and their families, highlight the gravity of the Emir’s comments. Both plaintiffs argue that his words, aired internationally, carried the weight of authority but inflicted reputational damage on respected elders of the emirate.

For the family of the late Iya Bashari Aminu, the issue is especially sensitive. Though he secured the highest votes from kingmakers during the 2020 succession, he was not selected. Yet, the family notes, he never maligned the institution, instead urging his children and kinsmen to pledge loyalty to the newly installed Emir while he sought legal redress in court.

To now cast him in the light of impropriety, years after his death, they insist, is an injury too grave to ignore.

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