| Honorific Prefix: | Emir of Lafia, the Hon. Justice |
| Sidi Dauda Bage | |
| Office1: | Judge of the High Court of Nigeria |
| Term Start1: | 9 November 1992 |
| Term End1: | 4 December 2016 |
| Office2: | Justice, Court of Appeal of Nigeria |
| Term Start2: | 10 December 2007 |
| Term End2: | 4 December 2016 |
| Office3: | Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria |
| Term Start3: | 5 December 2016 |
| Term End3: | 26 March 2019 |
| Appointer3: | Muhammadu Buhari, |
| Office4: | Emir of Lafia |
| Term Start4: | 26 March 2019 |
| Appointer4: | Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Governor of Nassarawa State |
| Birth Name: | Sidi Duada Bage |
| Birth Place: | Lafia, Nassarawa State, Nigeria |
| Birth Date: | 22 May 1956 |
| Nationality: | Nigerian |
Sidi Dauda Bage (born 22 May 1956), is a retired Nigerian jurist who presides as the 17th Emir of Lafia, a customary emirate in Nigeria. He succeeded the 16th emir, Isa Mustapha Agwai, on 26 March 2019.[1]
Bage was born in Lafia, in Nigeria's Nassarawa State. He attended the local Dunoma Primary School before going to the government secondary school in Lafia, 1970–1974. His initial legal training was at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, where he obtained a diploma in law in 1977. He continued his legal education with an LLB Honours degree in 1980, before attending the Nigerian Law School Lagos. He was called to the bar in 1981.[2]
Bage was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari.[3] [4] [5] [6]
Bage was chosen as Lafia's ruler upon the death on 10 January 2019 of the 16th Emir of Lafia, Isa Mustapha Agwai I. This was done by its Emirate Council's traditional selectors, whose entitlement to do so is bestowed by custom, recognised in modern law; these "kingmakers" vote to select the traditional ruler in accordance with chieftaincy laws. Bage is from the Hausa: Dalla Dunama (the 'Dalla ruling house') of the Kanuri, one of the two houses eligible for selection as emir in Lafia, in a accordance with a 1986 government regulation—the other house being the Hausa: Ari Dunama, of which the 16th emir was a member.[7] [8] The Emir of Lafia is ranked eighth in Nigeria's order of precedence for traditional rulers.
As emir, Bage belongs to the Nassarawa State Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs and is its chairman. During Bage's reign as emir, he has been active in cultural affairs, including patronage of the Salah festival, and promotion of the Kanuri language. He has overseen the redesign of the emir's palace in Lafia. He is the chairman of the religious support society Jama'atu Nasril Islam in Benue-Plateau State. Bage was appointed sheikh and grand khalif for Nassarawa State of the Sufi, the Tijaniyyah order.
The president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari recognised Bage with an award given for peaceful and orderly rule.
A 2004 briefing of expert opinion on the operation of traditional chieftaincy in Nigeria, compiled by Canadian authorities:
Explanation and commentary on traditional rulership and its influence in Nigeria: