The Kano Emirate power tussle has taken another turn after a Kano State High Court yesterday ordered the deposed emir, Aminu Ado Bayero, to vacate the Nasarawa mini palace he occupies.
The court directed the state commissioner of police to evict Bayero from the palace in the Nasarawa area of the Kano metropolis.
The court also issued an interim injunction preventing the deposed Bayero from parading himself as the Emir of Kano.
The orders were delivered by Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu of the High Court No. 7 on Miller Road, Kano.
Before the latest order, a Federal High Court sitting in Kano had restrained the government from reinstating Muhammadu Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano.
Since the order was given last Friday, some diehard supporters of Bayero had been calling on the state government to obey the court order.
The prayers granted yesterday by the state High Court were sought by the Kano attorney-general and commissioner for justice, the speaker of Kano State House of Assembly, and the State House of Assembly in a suit against Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero and the four other deposed emirs: Alhaji Nasiru Ado Bayero, Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar II, Alhaji Kabiru Muhammad Inuwa and Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Gaya.
Part of the order reads: “That an order is hereby granted to the extent that the Commissioner of Police, Kano State, should immediately take over the palace of the Emir of Kano situated at State Road, Kano, and evict the 1 Defendant/Respondent from the said palace pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice dated 24th May, 2024.
“That an order of this Hon. Court is hereby granted restraining the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th Defendants from parading themselves as Emirs of Kano, Bichi, Gaya, Rano and Karaye in the interest of peace in Kano pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The court adjourned the hearing of the motion on notice to June 11, 2024.
LEADERSHIP reports that after signing the Kano State Emirate Council Law 2024, which dissolved four new Emirates in the state and restored Kano Emirate to its pre-2019 status on Thursday, Governor Abba Yusuf issued a reappointment letter to Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II on Friday as the new Emir of Kano and ordered the emirs affected by the new law to vacate their palaces within 48 hours. However, the State Police Command on Saturday vowed to enforce an interim order of the Federal High Court sitting in Kano, which is against Sanusi II’s reinstatement.
Bayero has remained in the Nasarawa mini palace with heavy presence of security personnel, while Emir Sanusi II operates from the main palace secured by vigilantes and local hunters, a development that has put the commercial city on the edge since Saturday.
As the arrow heads in the tussle remain in the trenches, critical stakeholders in the state and other parts of the north have waded into the matter.
Before the court order yesterday, there was behind the scene pressure on the deposed Emir Ado Bayero to accept his fate and leave the state.
The first open push for Bayero to leave Kano came from the Northern Professionals Forum (NPF) which yesterday called on the former monarch to leave Kano in the interest of peace.
The group, with membership from the 19 states and the diaspora, yesterday appealed to Bayero to toe the path of honour and dignity and allow peace to reign in Kano State.
Its general secretary, Haruna Gaza, who was represented by the director-general of the forum, Usman Yusuf, stated this during a press conference in Kano yesterday.
He called on politicians who he described as “the authors of balkanising the long, historic and monolithic Kano Emirate to eschew bitterness and embrace the new law for onward progress and continued coexistence of peace-loving people of Kano.”
They described the court order halting the reinstatement of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II as belatedly executed, came late and was not received by the Attorney General of Kano State nor the Emir until Sunday evening.
“However, the grand standing and gangsterism with which the court order was celebrated and pursued by disgruntled elements poses a serious threat to the peace and stability of Kano State, the North and Nigeria by extension.
“We reject in totality the palpable actions of miscreants and jobless clowns in their resolve to foment trouble and sabotage the reign of the 16th Emir. This shouldn’t be allowed to escalate.
“We therefore, admonish and call upon the former Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero to toe the path of honour and dignity, and allow peace to reign in Kano State,” he stated.
Meanwhile, when LEADERSHIP visited Ado Bayero’s Nasarawa Mini Palace yesterday, stern-looking soldiers kept watch in the premises, although they allowed visitors in and out of the palace..
Buhari’s Ally Seeks Tinubu’s Intervention
Meanwhile, a political ally of former President Muhammadu Buhari and chairman of Arewa Media Group, Alhaji Danbilki Kwamanda, has cautioned President Bola Tinubu against allowing interest groups to hide under state laws to violate court orders that stopped the reinstatement of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II.
Kwamanda, who has been a strong voice in the Kano political arena, told newsmen in Kano on Monday that what the state government is doing – violating the federal high court order stopping the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II – is setting a bad precedence that will not augur well for the residents.
“We cannot understand how a people that celebrated being brought back to power by the court will now stand against a substantive court order that stopped them from carrying out an illegality.
“The insistence that the reinstated Emir must stay and continue parading himself as the authentic Emir of Kano has violated the rules of law and constitutes a threat to the nation’s constitution and general wellbeing,” he said.
He then called the attention of President Tinubu to, as a matter of urgency, do the needful by strongly addressing the matter to bring peace and stability in the state.
No Violent Protest In Kano – Commissioner
Also yesterday, the Kano State government refuted media reports of violent protests in the state following the removal and reinstatement of emirs.
A statement issued to newsmen by the commissioner for information, Baba Dantiye, said contrary to media reports, there have been no widespread violent protests in Kano State.
He said isolated incidents in a few areas by a handful of small children and hired miscreants and thugs do not in any way reflect the overall situation.
He further explicated that the decision by the administration of Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf to legally abrogate the emirates and reinstate the 14th Emir of Kano State was made after careful consideration of the best interests of the state.
He added that the decision was welcomed by a significant portion of the populace who understands and cherishes the long-term benefits of a unified emirate structure.
“It is evident that some political actors are manipulating the situation to create chaos and unrest. These elements are using the media to spread false narratives and incite public disorder. Their actions and those of their agents are not representative of the genuine feelings of the citizens of Kano State but are instead driven by selfish ulterior motives,” he stated.