Governor Abba Yusuf has issued an order for the immediate arrest of the dethroned Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, accusing him of creating tension in the state.
This directive was announced by the Director General, Media and Publicity, Government House, Kano, Sanusi Tofa, on Saturday, May 25, 2024.
Bayero, whose location had been unknown since his dethronement on Thursday, returned to Kano on Saturday, greeted by a large crowd of supporters at Aminu Kano International Airport. However, upon his arrival, Governor Yusuf mandated his arrest.
“The Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, ordered the immediate arrest of Bayero, for creating tension in the state,” read the official statement from the Governor’s office.
The decision follows the recent actions of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)-controlled House of Assembly, which repealed the law enacted by former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on December 5, 2019. The repealed law had divided the Kano emirates into five, each governed by an appointed Emir. Governor Yusuf, upon signing the repeal, instructed the affected Emirs to vacate their palaces within 48 hours and hand over their duties to the Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
Subsequently, Governor Yusuf reinstated Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi, who was deposed by Ganduje in 2020. Sanusi received his reappointment letter on Friday and led Jumat prayers at the Government House, Kano.
In the early hours of Saturday, Ado Bayero returned to Kano, greeted by a crowd of supporters. The aircraft which conveyed the monarch touched down at the Aminu Kano International Airport at 4:30 am. He was immediately thronged by his supporters chanting a verse from Surah Al-Fatihah in the Holy Quran, “You (alone) we worship, and you (alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).”
While some supporters were saying, “God the Almighty will kill your enemies,” Bayero, dressed in full royal regalia, did not respond to the crowd and later observed Subhi (dawn prayer) at the airport.
In response to Bayero’s return, the statement from the Governor’s office emphasized the need to maintain order. “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,” the statement added.
