There was a heavy presence of security personnel, including policemen, soldiers, and officials of the Department of State Services, among others, on Saturday at the Gidan Sarki Nasarawa, which is home to the dethroned Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, Sunday PUNCH can confirm.
One of our correspondents, who monitored the development, also sighted some soldiers at the residence of the current Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II; the Kano State Government House and some strategic places within the metropolis as part of efforts to beef up security following the tussle for power in the emirate.
Following a new law repealing four emirates earlier created by a former governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano installed Sanusi as the 16th Emir of the state.
Sanusi had in 2020 been dethroned by Ganduje over allegations of corruption and other allegations. He was replaced by Bayero, who was enthroned as the 15th Emir of Kano.
Ganduje also appointed Emirs for each of the five Emirates, but the controversial splitting of the ancient Kano Emirate into five domains resulted in widespread criticism across the state.
Following his dethronement in 2020, Sanusi found himself at the centre of a contentious power struggle but his eventual reinstatement came alive on Friday, May 24, 2024, when the House of Assembly repealed the law signed by the former governor on December 5, 2019.
The new law abrogated the establishment of the five new emirates in the state and reverted to the former status of a single Emir in Kano, thereby removing all the current Emirs except for the central Emir of Kano.
Governor Yusuf, upon signing the law, gave all the Emirs affected by the law 48 hours to vacate their palaces and hand them over to the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
The governor subsequently announced the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi, whom Ganduje had deposed in 2020 as Emir of Kano.
Yusuf said, “By the powers conferred on me by the Kano Emirate Council Law of 1984 and 2024, and supported by the recommendation of the kingmakers, I have the singular pleasure of confirming the reappointment of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano and the head of the Kano Emirate Council.”
Meanwhile, after receiving his reappointment letter on Friday, Sanusi led the Jumat prayers at the Government House, Kano, and returned to the palace early Saturday.
A viral video sighted by one of our correspondents showed the moment he was driven back to the palace in a convoy.
He was accompanied by the governor, his deputy, Aminu Abdussalam, and other government officials.
However, his reinstatement heightened tension within the state as the deposed Emir, Aminu Ado Bayero, whose whereabouts were unknown after the governor deposed him on Thursday, also returned to Kano on Saturday.
After his dethronment, a deployment of soldiers arrived at his mini-palace on Thursday.
It was reported that other dethroned Emirs – Alhaji Nasir Ado Bayero (Bichi), Alhaji Kabiru Muhammad Inuwa (Rano), Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar II (Karaye), and Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Abdulkadir (Gaya), complied with the directive.
Meanwhile, Bayero’s aircraft landed at the Aminu Kano International Airport on Saturday at 4:30 am, where he was immediately greeted by supporters.
He then urged residents to maintain law and order, pledged to obey the position of the law, and called on appropriate authority to deliver justice in the matter, saying justice would prevail.
He said, “I call on the people to remain law-abiding while awaiting the outcome of the legal process in this tussle. We call on the authorities to do justice in this matter. Kano is a very influential state in Nigeria. Whatever affects Kano affects Nigeria.
“May peace reign in Kano. We pray for Allah to bless Kano with responsible and just leaders. Justice is the way to go on every issue. There will be justice. Nobody is above the law. We will accept whatever the law says. I appreciate all the people who have shown concern. As I said, justice will take its course. We will keep on praying for peace in Kano State. May Allah the Almighty protect us.”
‘Arrest Bayero’
But, in a statement on Saturday by the Director-General, Media and Publicity, Government House, Kano, Sanusi Tofa, the governor ordered the immediate arrest of the deposed monarch for allegedly creating tension in the state.
The statement partly read, “As the Chief Security Officer of the state, His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, has directed the Commissioner of Police to arrest the deposed Emir with immediate effect for disturbing public peace and attempting to destroy the relative peace the state enjoys.”
Kano CP speaks
Although no official statement has been given regarding the reason for the heavy presence of security operatives, an impeccable security source told one of our correspondents that the men were deployed by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to the three places to enhance security.
According to the source, the deployment of security personnel to all the places was necessary to prevent aggrieved supporters of the two monarchs from attacking one another other.
One of our correspondents monitoring the situation gathered that despite the ongoing debacle, the ancient city remained calm as residents continued to go about with their normal and lawful businesses.
Meanwhile, the governor and other top officials were still with Emir Sanusi at the main palace while the deposed Emir remained in the Nasarawa palace.
Closed-door meeting
Earlier in the day, Governor Yusuf and Sanusi had a closed-door meeting with top security chiefs in the state.
The top security chiefs who also had similar meetings with the deposed monarch included the Commissioner of Police, the Director of the DSS, the Army Brigade Commander, and the NSCDC commander at the mini palace in the Nasarawa area of the state.
When contacted to give insight on the agenda of the meeting, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Abdullahi Haruna, declined to speak.
He, however, said the deployment of security agents was a normal security deployment.
“The deployment of the security personnel is all over the state and it’s meant to enhance security given the current happenings,” Haruna said.
‘No breakdown on law, order’
Meanwhile, security agencies in the state had promised to prevent a breakdown of law and order as the safety and security of all the residents in the state remain sacrosanct.
The Commissioner of Police, Usaini Gumel, in a joint security press conference at the command’s headquarters in Bompai Kano, on Saturday, said security agencies would enforce the court order restraining the state government from dissolving five newly created emirates in the state.
Gumel said, “We are calling on members of the public to know that the police in the state are working together with the military and other security agencies and are at full capacity for providing adequate security to everyone as we are committed to carrying out our statutory duties as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said the action of the Federal Government in deploying soldiers in Kano in the tussle over the throne of the ancient city is an “upset to the peace and security of the state, and a breach of the constitution”.
He said the Kano State House of Assembly passed the amended Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Bill (2024) in consonance with the provision of Section 4 of the Constitution 1999 (as Amended).
“Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s signature on the bill repealed the 2019 version which balkanised the ancient Kano Emirate into five. The foregoing circumstances happened within the confines of the law and in compliance with the powers conferred on the Governor as provided by Section 5(2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended; and also in consultation with the Kingmakers of Kano, reappointed Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (also known as Muhammadu Sanusi II) as the 16th Emir of Kano State and accordingly handed him a letter of appointment,” he said.
Speaking in a statement by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, on Saturday, Atiku said the former Emir could not have made his way into the Nasarawa Palace without the support of the Federal Government, alleging that he did so with the support of the army and other security agencies in his company.
“We wish to state unequivocally that if for any reason, law and order breaks down in Kano State, particularly Kano Municipal, the Federal Government should be held responsible for the act of providing security cover to the former Emir, Aminu Ado Bayero, to come back to Kano is an invitation to anarchy,” he wrote.
NNPP fingers Ganduje
Meanwhile, the New Nigeria People’s Party, on Saturday, accused supporters of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, who is a former governor of Kano State, of attempting to cause chaos in Kano to pave the way for a state of emergency.
But Ganduje’s aide and the ruling APC described the immediate dissolution of the state’s four emirates and Thursday’s reinstatement of the 16th Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido, as a “vendetta mission”.
The development comes in the wake of two demonstrations on Friday where protesters marched to the Aso Rock Villa and the National Assembly over Sanusi’s reinstatement.
Speaking on the issue, the National Publicity Secretary of the NNPP, Ladipo Johnson, said the action of the NSA and the recent weird behaviour of the police showed that they were truly deploying federal might.
He said, “It is not a surprise to us anymore as the police commissioner in Kano is beginning to say it is that court order he is following. That was why they used soldiers to take Ado Bayero to wherever they took him to. These people are the ones we believe want to cause a crisis in Kano.”
Efforts to get the National Publicity of the APC, Felix Morka, to comment on the matter were unsuccessful.
As of the time of filing this report, he had yet to respond to text messages sent to his line for clarification nor did he answer his phone calls when Sunday PUNCH tried to reach him for a comment.
Ganduje’s aide alleges coup
But Ganduje’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Enlightenment, Chief Oliver Okpala, described the “palace coup” in Kano as a desperate move by the Kwankwasiyya movement and the governor to desecrate his principal’s legacies in the state.
“Everybody knows that the government is a continuum. When Ganduje was in power, we all know he did his best and the people of Kano State can testify to that. He left some legacies that are yet to be matched by anybody.
“What Ganduje has done in Kano cannot be destroyed overnight by political malice from any quarter. This is because what he left in Kano are monumental legacies,” he said.
The APC National Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, also shared Okpala’s sentiments.
Ibrahim said he found it surprising that it was the same NNPP government that used to cry that is now ‘approbating and reprobating’ on the issue of Kano emirate.
“When it suits them, they obey the court. When it doesn’t, they will disobey. They are forgetting the fact that they are products of a court order. No problem. This is the beauty of democracy though,” he said.
When prodded to explain why Aminu Bayero is refusing to let go of the throne after Sanusi’s reinstatement, the APC publicity director believed his action was justified because he has not been officially dethroned.
Ibrahim also knocked Governor Yusuf for rushing to issue the former Central Bank of Nigeria governor a reinstatement letter instead of borrowing a leaf from Ganduje’s diplomacy.
The APC spokesman also faulted the Kano government over his claim that the judge issued the ex parte order from the United States.
Ibrahim said argued that a court order can be secured from a serving judge even outside the courtroom.
Don’t resort to self-help
The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Kano State chapter, Sagir Gezawa, has begged all parties involved in the matter not to resort to self-help.
Gezawa emphasised the constitutional duty of state assemblies to legislate and the governor’s prerogative to assent to such laws.
According to the NBA, the implementation of law falls under the state’s apparatus and enforcement by a competent court of law once it is assented to by the governor.
He also said that it is within the purview of courts to interpret such law to be in tandem with other existing laws or the Constitution.
Gezawa urged NBA members to approach courts with competent jurisdiction responsibly.
“Anyone found disobeying a court order must be proved to have been notified of its existence through the issuance of Form 48 and subsequently Form 49, as per the Sheriff and Civil Processes Act and various state laws,” Gezawa said.
‘Let peace reign’
The forum of Islamic clergy in Kano, Ulama, has urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene and prevent any actions that may lead to a disruption of law and order in the state.
In a statement signed by 18 members of the Ulama, the clergies expressed their concerns regarding the ongoing dispute over the monarchy.
The Ulama said, “Kano State is one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria despite its political complexity. The recent happenings in the Emirate if not carefully handled could escalate and degenerate into chaos.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must take all necessary steps to maintain peace in the State. Mr President as the leader of the nation should not allow the contest for a royal stool to degenerate into violence. We are calling on Mr President to allow the people of Kano State to resolve these issues amicably without the use of any force and loss of lives.
They also maintained that the state government needed the cooperation and support of the Federal Government.
