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Category: North West

  • Confusion as NSA Nuhu Ribadu reportedly orders return of Emir Bayero

    Confusion as NSA Nuhu Ribadu reportedly orders return of Emir Bayero

    The traditional leadership crisis in Kano State has taken a new twist as the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, has reportedly ordered the reinstatement of HRH Aminu Ado Bayero as the Emir of Kano. 

    Kano State Deputy Governor, Aminu Abdussalam, revealed this in an interview with journalists in Kano

    The National Security Adviser’s directive to return Aminu Ado Bayero as Emir directly contradicts the actions taken by Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, who recently signed a law reinstating Muhammadu Sanusi II and abolishing the five additional emirate councils.

    Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam expressed the administration’s confusion and concern over the federal directive. 

    “National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu ordered the return of HRH Aminu Ado Bayero as Emir of Kano, we’re confused,” he stated.

    Governor Yusuf signed the Kano State Emirates Council (Amendment Number 2) Law, 2024, which aimed to consolidate the emirate system under Kano and reinstate Sanusi II, who was deposed in 2020 by former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

    Heavy security presence has been reported at the Kano Emir’s Palace as the state government prepares to support Sanusi II’s return.

  • Governor Abba Yusuf Reacts As Court Stops Him From Reinstating Sanusi 

    Governor Abba Yusuf Reacts As Court Stops Him From Reinstating Sanusi 

    Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State has vowed to report what he described as the abuse of court orders to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

    He said this while reacting to the court order which restrained the reinstatement of Sanusi and restrained the dethronement of five Emirs in the state.

    Justice Abdullahi Muhammad Liman of the Federal High Court, Kano, had granted an interim injunction restraining the Inspector General of police, Kano state police commissioner, Nigeria security and civil defense corps NSCDC and the department of state service DSS from enforcing, executing, implementing or operationalizing the Kano state emirate council (repeal) law.

    The judge granted the order based on a motion filed by Aminu Babba Danagundi who held the title Sarkin Dawaki Babba.

    But speaking shortly after issuing the reinstatement letter to Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II at Africa House, Kano State Government House, on Friday, Yusuf said, “The person that issued the court order was in America but he is ordering us to stop what we are doing. This issue of abuse I must present before the Governor’s Forum so that we can tackle it accordingly.

    “We are agents of following due process, that’s why we did what we did openly before everybody. Those that are meant to maintain that rule of law remains must follow that also.”

  • Protesters Storm Villa, NASS Over Reinstatement Of Sanusi As Kano Emir

    Protesters Storm Villa, NASS Over Reinstatement Of Sanusi As Kano Emir

    Protesters marched to the Presidential Villa and the National Assembly in Abuja on Friday, demanding President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the Kano Emirate conflict.

    The protesters, marching peacefully, carried banners highlighting their concerns about the escalating situation in Kano.

    They called on President Tinubu to use his authority to resolve the crisis and ensure the restoration of peace and stability in the State.

    The State Assembly passed a bill titled, ‘The Kano State Emirates Councils (Repeal) Bill, 2024’, which dissolved the establishment of the additional emirates.

    This made way for the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II on Thursday by Governor Yusuf, four years after he was dethroned by a former governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje.

    The protesters, under the banner of the Concerned Patriots of Nigeria, accused Governor Yusuf of escalating his abuse of office by dissolving the traditional council.

    The coordinator, Abdullahi Muhammed Saleh said, “A lot had been going wrong in the state but the Concerned Patriots of Nigeria had thought it best to allow Kano state to sort out its thorny issues. However, Thursday’s brash actions of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, who sacked five emirs to reappoint Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi as the 14th Emir of Kano has awoken us to the urgency of raising the alarm about the destructive excesses of the state governor.

    “Since being sworn into office, Governor Abba Yusuf has a string of loutish acts that run like a hardened criminal’s rap sheet. All in the name of rubbishing his predecessor, he started with a demolition spree that has served to impoverish the people whose lives he took an oath to improve. Thus he proved himself to be anti-people.

    “The Governor then attempted to destroy the structures of political parties in the state. The impish fanaticism with which he pursued this illicit mission saw him intruding into the structure of other political parties, including hiring some charlatans who purportedly suspended the national chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, who is interestingly his predecessor. Thus he proved himself to be anti-democratic.

    “This latest stunt of sacking five emirs to install his acolyte was achieved by manipulating the Kano State House of Assembly, which he had successfully turned into a rubber stamp for endorsing his illegal acts. He has eroded the autonomy guaranteed by the separation of powers as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

    “It is inconceivable that any right-thinking person will descend low to the point of manipulating the traditional institution for political gimmicks. The humiliation meted out to the five emirs was most unbecoming and we have cause to believe that Abba Yusuf has set the stage for using the traditional institution as ancient and as esteemed as that of Kano for a political seesaw will continue since his successor will revert to the five emirates. The Kano governor has thus proven himself to be the anti-traditional institution leader.”

    The protesters criticized Governor Yusuf’s actions as unreasonable and detrimental to a civilized society, urging him to stop undermining Kano’s peace.

    They condemned the NNPP-dominated Kano State House of Assembly for being a rubber stamp for the governor’s actions, warning that their desperation could destabilize the city and the country.

    They appealed to President Tinubu to urgently intervene in the Kano Emirate crisis to prevent further deterioration and ensure peace is restored.

  • Gov Yusuf reappoints Sanusi as Emir of Kano, orders ex-monarchs 48 hours to vacate seats

    Gov Yusuf reappoints Sanusi as Emir of Kano, orders ex-monarchs 48 hours to vacate seats

    Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has approved the reappointment of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II as Emir of Kano under the new laws.

    The governor has given former emirs 48 hours to vacate their palaces and hand over Emirate Council properties to the Commissioner of Local Government, who also serves as State Deputy Governor.

    Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State has signed the Kano Emirates Bill 2024 into law, repealing the 2019 Emirate Councils Law that altered the state’s over 1000-year history.

    By signing the bill, the governor declared that the 2019 law has been repealed and is now history.

    The signing was attended by the Speaker of the State Assembly, Ismaila Falgore, Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam, Secretary to the State Government Abdullahi Baffa Bichi and others.

    The State Assembly has fulfilled one of its constitutional roles by signing the bill into law.

  • Sanusi’s Son Reacts As Kano Govt Sacks Five Emirs

    Sanusi’s Son Reacts As Kano Govt Sacks Five Emirs

    Ashraf Sanusi, the son of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammadu Sanusi II, has asserted that the state has corrected an injustice.

    Ashraf stated this while reacting to the state assembly’s abolishment of the five emirate councils and his father’s possible reinstatement as Emir of Kano.

    There is no official statement yet on Sanusi’s reinstatement, but sources privy to the situation told the LEADERSHIP newspaper that Sanusi will be in Kano on Friday

    Reacting to the latest development, Ashraf, in a post on his Instagram page, prayed that Allah would deliver his father from the plots of deceivers and allow him to see through their shallow smiles.

    He wrote, “O Allah, Lord of all dominion! You give dominion to whom You will, and take away dominion from whom You will, and You exalt whom You will, and abase whom You will. In Your Hand is all good. By your hand an injustice has been corrected today Alhamdulillah.

    “Ya Allah save the Emir of Kano, HH Muhammad Sanusi II from the evil & whispers of devils, the plots of deceivers and allow him to see through their shallow smiles. Ya Allah increase him in charity and increase him in piety, Ya Allah save him from the love of this world and increase him in the love of the hereafter.”

  • Kano Assembly dethrones five emirs

    Kano Assembly dethrones five emirs

    The Kano State House of Assembly has passed the Kano Emirates Council Law (repeal bill) 2024 on Thursday.

    This was sequel to deliberations on the floor of the house during plenary on Thursday.

    The law, which was passed after scaling 3rd reading, had abolished the establishment of five emirate councils in the state.

    The new bill would revert the state’s highest ranking traditional institution to its former structure of one emir as all the offices established under the previous law had been dissolved.

    The bill had also provided that all district heads elevated or appointed under the repealed law are to revert to their previous positions.

    The bill, titled Kano State Emirates Council (Amendment number 2) Law, 2024, was sponsored by the Majority Leader and member representing the Dala Constituency, Lawan Hussaini Chediyar Yan Gurasa.

    Recall that the former governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje, on December 5, 2019, assented to the law that created five new emirates in the state.

    The governor assented to an amendment to the law on 14 October, 2020 and signed another amendment on 11 April, 2023.

  • Kano assembly dissolves four new emirates, may reinstate Sanusi

    Kano assembly dissolves four new emirates, may reinstate Sanusi

    The Kano State House of Assembly has dissolved the four emirate councils created by the immediate past administration led by Abdullahi Ganduje.
    Muhammadu Bello Butu, the deputy speaker of the assembly who confirmed the development said that the dissolution of the 4 new emirate councils was sequel to deliberations on the floor of the house during plenary.
    He disclosed that the Kano state emirate council amendment bill was considered on the floor of the house after scaling second and third reading on Thursday morning.
    Butu explained that repealing the law would revive the lost glory of Kano as the division of Kano emirate to five reduced the capacity and dignity of the state at national level.
    The majority leader Lawan Hussaini Dala said that the emirate council served as a custodian of culture which was distorted by the creation of additional emirates.
    The majority leader explained that with the amendment of the law, all the five emirate councils were abolished while the commissioner for local governments would serve as the overseer.
    The house also adopted a motion to create new second class emirate council in the state.
    However, sources close to the state legislatures indicates that there is a strong indication that the despised Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi 11, might be restore later today, as Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf is set to assent to the new Act later today.

  • Kano Governor Vows to Sign Death Warrant Of Mosque Bombing Suspect

    Kano Governor Vows to Sign Death Warrant Of Mosque Bombing Suspect

    Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State has revealed that last Wednesday’s bombing of a mosque at Gadan village, Gezawa Local Government Area of the state was neither extremism nor politically motivated.

    Directing that the mastermind of the bombing be prosecuted before the Shariah court, the governor said that investigation had revealed that the attack was occasioned by family squabbles over inheritance.

    Yusuf made this disclosure on Sunday when he visited injured victims at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano after he returned from Abuja on official visit.

    He noted that the death toll in the incident had risen to 15, and vowed that he would not hesitate to sign the death warrant if the court found the 38-year-old guilty and sentenced him to death.

    Recall that Abubakar threw a locally-made bomb at the mosque while worshippers were inside observing the early morning prayers.

    Speaking during the visit, Yusuf said, “Whatever the court decides, we will ensure that the victims of the Gadan village arson get justice and if it condemns him to death after finding him guilty, we will not hesitate to sign the death warrant.”

    He added, “For the avoidance of any doubt, the incendiarism that led to the death of 15 out of the 24 victims was neither politically motivated nor a terrorist attack on the residents of the state.”

    The governor donated N100,000 to each of the victims.

  • Death Toll In Kano Mosque Attack Rises To Eleven 

    Death Toll In Kano Mosque Attack Rises To Eleven 

    Eleven individuals have now lost their lives in a devastating arson attack on a mosque in Kano State. 

    The attack, carried out by 38-year-old Shafiu Abubakar, occurred during the early morning prayer at Gadan village.

    Reports indicate that approximately 40 worshippers were inside the mosque when Abubakar ignited the fire and locked them inside, preventing their escape.

    Rabiu Gadan, a resident of the village, confirmed the death toll, with eight funerals already conducted and preparations underway for the remaining three victims. 

    According to witnesses, Abubakar had a history of violence, including previous assaults on family members.

    The assailant, now in police custody, confessed to his actions, citing frustration over an inheritance dispute as his motive. Despite warnings to his family to cease mistreatment, his grievances allegedly went unaddressed.

    While details surrounding the inheritance disagreement remain unclear, the tragic incident has left the community reeling, with injured individuals receiving treatment at Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital.

    Deputy Inspector General of Police, AIG Umar Mamman Sanda, expressed condolences and confirmed the suspect’s cooperation with authorities. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.

  • Kano Mosque Set Ablaze During Morning Prayers 

    Kano Mosque Set Ablaze During Morning Prayers 

    A yet to be identified man has set a mosque on fire at Laraba Abasawa in Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State.

    According to Daily Trust, the incident, occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, left worshippers injured.

    Members of the community were observing the ‘Subh’ prayer when the arsonist struck.

    According to a member of the community who asked not to be named, “the man used petrol and lit fire while the people, about 40 of them were praying. He locked the mosque after the fire.”

    “It took time for people outside to get aware of the incident and rescue the victims who were struggling to break out.”

    At least 20 worshippers, who reportedly sustained serious injuries, have been rushed to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano.