The dethroned Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado-Bayero has urged residents of the city to remain peaceful and law-abiding amidst tension around the traditional seat.
He spoke shortly after receiving the state Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Hussain Gumel at a mini-palace on Saturday.
Ado-Bayero, who addressed cheerful supporters, said no one is above the law and that he is hopeful “justice would prevail” on the issue of his dethronement.
He vowed to accept whatever the law states, adding that Kano is an important state in Nigeria and peace must not be tampered with.
“I call on the people to remain law-abiding while awaiting the outcome of the legal process on this tussle”, he said.
The state governor, Mallam Abba Yusuf reinstated Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano in a colourful ceremony on Friday.
Sanusi was dethroned by the immediate past administration of Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, who is the current National Chairman of the country’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Sanusi was ousted in 2020 for showing “insubordination” to state authorities at the time.
On Thursday, to prepare grounds for the return of Sanusi as Emir, the state House of Assembly abolished the five former emirates created out of the old Kano emirate and restated the old Kano emirate with only one emir.
That same day, the governor signed the law and gave the emirs of the abolished emirates 48 hours to vacate their palaces.
But a Federal High Court had issued a last-minute order stopping the state government from abolishing all the five emirates created during the administration of former Governor Ganduje and returning to the system where only one emir led Kano.
The ruling was a response to an application from Aminu Dan-Agundu, a Kano emirate official who opposed moving back to the old system.
However, Yusuf said he would not recognise the ruling.
Referencing reports that the High Court judge was in the United States when he gave the ruling, the governor said at the ceremony reinstating Sanusi: “Imagine a judge in America ordering us to halt the coronation of the Emir of Kano, Sanusi. Our laws are in place and they will not change”.
However, as of the time of this report, security agencies are insisting on enforcing the court order that halts the Ado-Bayero’s dethronement.
Security forces including the Nigeria Police Force, soldiers, and Civil Defence officials paid a visit to Ado-Bayero on Saturday.
The mini-palace, located in the Nassarawa area of the state, is where he settled in when he returned to the state in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Before the visit to Ado-Bayero, the commissioner had earlier addressed journalists and told the state government to obey the court order that halts the dethronement of Ado-Bayero.
Source: PREMIUM TIMES
