AS palpable tension continues to envelope Kano State over the dethronement of former Emir, Aminu Ado Bayero and subsequent reinstatement of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano, Sunday Tribune reports that both Ado Bayero and Sanusi presently occupy two different palaces in the state, a development that has kept the state on edge in the last couple of days.
While Sanusi moved to Gidan Dabo, the main residence of the Emir of Kano, after he was reinstated by Governor Abba Yusuf on Friday, it was gathered that Ado Bayero, who returned to the state in the company of a team of security personnel on Saturday morning made his way into the Nasarawa Palace of the Kano Emirate.
Sunday Tribune reports that Sanusi was reinstated four years after he was removed by the immediate past administration of Abdullahi Ganduje. His reinstatement also followed the repealing of the state’s Emirate Council Law 2019, which created five emirates councils and five first-class emirs.
But in response to Sanusi’s reinstatement, a suit was instituted by a traditional title holder, the Sarkin Dawaki Babba, Aminu Babba-Dan’Agundi before a Federal High Court in Kano which restrained the state government from implementing the new emirate council law that reinstated Sanusi.
Many observers believed the court order given by Justice Mohammed Liman on Friday influenced the former emir’s return to the state on Saturday morning.
Upon the former emir’s return, Governor Yusuf ordered his arrest but the order was yet to be carried out by police who asked parties involved in the crisis to obey the federal court order pending the hearing of the interim injunction on June 3, 2024.
The Commissioner of Police in Kano State, Usaini Gumel, said that the police would obey the court order which directed that the status quo must be maintained, indicating that dethroned Ado Bayero should still be regarded as the emir.
Sunday Tribune also learnt that a delegation of security operatives from different agencies met with Governor Yusuf and Sanusi on the controversies surrounding the throne.
No need to resolve tussle with force —Islamic scholars
Concerned by developments surrounding the emirship tussle, the Council of Ulamas, a group of Islamic scholars, in Kano State has urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the ongoing controversy.
The leader of the group, Malam Ibrahim Khalil, along with 20 others, made the call in a statement issued in Kano on Saturday.
The scholars said that Kano State is known for its peace and stability, in spite of its political complexities.
They, therefore, urged the president to take necessary steps to prevent the situation from escalating into chaos.
They acknowledged the recent amendments to the Kano State Emirates Law and the ongoing legal challenges and harped the need for peaceful resolution of the impasse and cooperation between the state and federal governments.
They expressed opposition to any measures that could lead to conflict and loss of lives, and urged both contending parties to resolve their differences through peaceful means.
They assured Tinubu that they would reach out to the contenders in a bid to promote peace in the state even as they prayed for peace and prosperity in the nation.
Deployment of soldiers threat to democracy, constitutional breach —Atiku, NNPP
In a related development, a former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, described that the deployment of soldiers to Kano which he claimed is a breach of the nation’s constitution, has upset the peace and security of the state.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, according to a statement issued on Saturday by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, said the former emir could not have made his way into the Nasarawa palace without the support of the Federal Government, adding that the “deployment of soldiers in extra constitutional matters such as this undermines the integrity of the Nigerian military.”
Atiku said the Kano State House of Assembly (KSHA) passed the amended Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Bill 2024 in line with its Constitutional powers, noting that the law was subsequently signed by Governor Yusuf in the exercise of his powers.
According to him, the former emir could not have returned to Kano without the support of the federal government and the involvement of the military whose involvement, he said, had undermined their integrity.
The statement added: “We need to remind the Tinubu administration that Kano State is known for peace and harmony spanning thousands of years and any attempt to destablise the peace of the Land of Commerce shall be resisted.
“Recall that Muhammadu Sanusi II was dethroned on 9th March, 2020 dethroned, Kano forged on in peace without any fracas.
“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 as the act of providing security cover to the former Emir, Aminu Ado Bayero to come back to Kano is an invitation to anarchy.”
Also reacting to the developments in the state, the New Nigeria People’s party (NNPP) on Saturday warned that the deployment of soldiers and other security agents to the emir’s palace posed a big threat to democracy.
The party, in a statement by its national publicity secretary, Mr Ladipo Johnson, said the siege on the palace was a shame as the sacking of Bayero and the other emirs in the Kano emirate followed due process.
It noted that the deployment of soldiers and other security agents around the vicinity of the palace appear to be a plan to overturn the “constitutionally backed restructuring and restoration of the lost glory of the Kano State Emirate Council.”
The party also faulted the alleged forceful return of deposed emir, Aminu Ado Bayero, to Kano, adding that this posed a threat to peace and harmony in the state.
“The on-going scenario in Kano where soldiers are deployed to upturn a properly enacted law by the state legislature and where the state police commissioner will bluntly refuse an instruction by a sitting governor as we are witnessing in Kano portends grave danger to our democracy.
“The refusal of the state commissioner of police to carry out the order of Governor Abba Yusuf to arrest the deposed emir for attempting to cause violence and public disorder through his conduct was disrespectful to the governor as the chief security officer in the state,” the party said in the statement.
I did not facilitate return of dethroned emir —Ribadu
Meanwhile, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has refuted the claim by the Kano State government that he assisted the dethroned emir to return to the state.
Recall that the deputy governor, Alhaji Aminu Abdulsalam Gwarzo, had accused the NSA of assisting in the return of the deposed emir to the city in the early hours of Saturday.
Sunday Tribune reports that Bayero’s last official trip as the emir was a visit to Ogun State during the week to felicitate the Awujale and paramount ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, on his 90th birthday celebration and 64th year on the throne, which he marked recently.
But Gwarzo, in a brief video interview at the emir’s palace in Gidan Rumfa, claimed that the NSA arranged for two aircraft to transport the sacked traditional ruler and his entourage back to the state.
However, in a swift reaction to the claim in Abuja, the spokesperson of the NSA’s office, Mallam Zakari Mijinyawa, denied the allegation while describing it as false and untrue.
Mijinyawa insisted that Mallam Ribadu did not provide the aircraft that returned the sacked emir back to Kano.
He urged politicians to be mindful of their utterances, as they may jeopardise security agencies’ efforts to maintain peace in the state.
“It is untrue. The NSA did not provide air transport to anyone to Kano.
“Political actors should desist from misinforming the public as law enforcement officials in the state strive to maintain peace and order,” Mijinyawa said.
In a late statement released to the media on Saturday, commissioner of police, Gumel, appealed for calm and tranquility in the state amidst the ongoing emirship tussle.
Gumel, in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday, assured that the police and security agencies have taken concrete measures to deal with any form of security threats.
Gumel said that the combined security agencies are fully committed to ensuring peace, progress, and political stability in the state.
He said the security measures in place would guarantee a peaceful atmosphere in the state, particularly following the dissolution of the five Emirates council.
Gumel reiterated that the police in collaboration with state security agencies, have devised a comprehensive security network to deal decisively with anyone or group of people attempting to undermine the peace in the state.
He urged the public to remain calm and go about their lawful activities, assuring that the security agencies are working tirelessly to ensure a peaceful and stable environment in the state.
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