• Sanusi wants Lagos but moved to Loko, then Awe
• Dethroned Sanusi makes case for Emir Bayero
• New Kano emir to receive staff of office today
• El-Rufai appoints Sanusi vice chair of Kaduna board

The dethroned Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has vowed to challenge his banishment in court. Speaking through his lawyer, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud SAN, the former emir said he had not been served with any arrest warrant when he was picked up at the Emir’s Palace in Kano on Monday.

Mahmoud, however, said they would contest the banishment of the monarch saying they have not been asked to challenge his removal. Addressing a press conference yesterday in Kano, Mahmoud said Sanusi’s legal team would challenge his banishment in court.

He said the Kano Emirate Court Law 2019, did not in any way empower the Kano State Executive Council to banish the emir. He said,

We have the directives of the emir through his Chief of Staff, Munir Sanusi, to challenge the legality of the banishment of the emir.

We have not received any directive to challenge his dethronement, but we have been directed to challenge his banishment.

Mahmoud added that the dethronement and banishment of Sanusi II was a total violation of his human rights. Mahmoud also questioned the reason given by the Kano State government for the dethronement of Sanusi II over alleged disrespect to lawful instructions from the authorities and refusal to attend official programmes and meetings organised by government.

He said as far as they were concerned, there was no any notice of disrespect ever given to the emir or query issued to him for refusal to attend official function.

He (Sanusi II) was never given any opportunity to defend himself against these charges. Section 13 of the Kano State Emirates Council Law 2019, cited in the letter of deposition empowers the governor to depose an emir only after due inquiry and in consultation with the state council of chiefs.

We are not aware of such due inquiry nor are we aware that the Kano State council of chiefs was at any time summoned to any meeting much less discuss the removal of the emir or give any advice to the governor on deposition,

he said.

He said after the dethronement, the ex-monarch wanted to move to Lagos state, but was forced to Nasarawa. Mahmoud said he was at the palace when the letter of dethronement was brought to Sanusi.

In the letter of deposition, it was stated that the emir was to be removed to Nasarawa State. We requested to know if he was under arrest and if so we needed to see the warrant. The commissioner of police informed us that he was not under arrest.

We informed the commissioner of police that it was illegal and violation of his constitutional rights to be moved to Nasarawa State against his wish. The emir informed the commissioner of police that his friends had sent an aircraft to fly him and his family to Lagos and requested that they should be provided with necessary security to the airport so that he could leave.

The commissioner refused saying that was not their instruction. They were willing to allow the family to leave for Lagos but he was to be flown to Abuja then onwards taken to Nasarawa State. It was clear to us that both the emir and ourselves were helpless and the police and other security agents were willing to take any measure and use force to achieve their objective.

In order not to jeopardize the emir’s safety or the safety of any member of his family or indeed other persons around, the emir decided to cooperate and proceed in the vehicles provided by the operatives.

We accompanied the commissioner of police to the Nigerian Air Force base in Kano where the emir was put in a private aircraft and departed at about 6.40pm. The family subsequently boarded the aircraft arranged by his friends and departed for Lagos about 15 minutes later,

Mahmoud said.

The lawyer said from Abuja, Sanusi was taken on a journey of seven hours by road till he arrived at a remote location in Nasarawa.

Beside their resolve to sue the Kano State government, the legal team of the embattled Sanusi said they want him to be freed. Barrister Mahmoud therefore called on the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) to ensure the immediate release of the dethroned emir.

According to Daily Trust, Sanusi was dethroned on Monday for allegedly disrespecting the office of the governor and other government agencies.

How Sanusi was moved to Awe from Loko

Our correspondents report that many emirs and chiefs in Nasarawa State yesterday escorted the deposed Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II to Awe Local Government. The deposed emir was first taken to Loko in Nasarawa Local Government Area, but during the day, many factors came into play in respect of the propriety of taking him to “a remote village” as his new abode.

Findings reveal that Loko have been in existence for more than a century, and had at a time served as the headquarters of the North where Mongo Park used to hold meetings with emirs from the North.

Though the road to Loko is dusty and also very far from Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, the town has first class emir, Abubakar Sabo Umar and is also endowed with a river, which allows year round farming and fishing.

Prominent people interceded and said the dethroned emir should not be subjected to extreme psychological trauma. They said even though he has been dethroned, he should be taken to a place befitting his status and should not be completely cut-off from enjoying a relatively normal life,

a source said.

The source said after it was agreed that Sanusi should be relocated to Awe, many prominent people accompanied him to the town after he was earlier brought to the government house Lafia in a helicopter.

It was gathered that the dethroned emir will in the interim live in a modest two-bedroom apartment in Awe pending the renovation of the guest house of the local government chairman.

Dethroned Sanusi makes case for Emir Bayero

Meanwhile, dethroned Emir Sanusi yesterday urged the people of Kano and environs to support his successor, Aminu Ado Bayero. Sanusi II in a video yesterday, said he has accepted his dethronement as “an act of God,” noting that “it will be the best for us.” The former CBN governor said there was no reason to be sad over his dethronement.

Flavision gathered that Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State had also summoned an emergency meeting with first class traditional rulers with sources saying they deliberated on issues relating to their new guest.

New Kano emir to receive staff office today

The newly appointed Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, will likely get his staff of office today, a source close to the state government has revealed. According to the source, Bayero would be escorted to the emir’s palace in Kano shortly after he receives his staff of office.

Arrangements have been concluded for the presentation of the staff of office to the emir by the state Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje,

the source said.

Bayero had also paid homage to his mother at her personal residence located within Kano metropolis. Thousands of people converged at the emir’s house at Mandawari quarters in the early hours of yesterday and accompanied him to his mother’s home.

Bayero was escorted to his mother’s house amidst jubilation by thousands of his supporters, who engaged in stylish drumming and singing during a procession-like event. The emir’s visit to his mother was his first outing 24 hours after he was appointed emir of Kano by Governor Ganduje.

He is the son of the 13th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Dr. Ado Abdullahi Bayero, who reigned from 1963 till his death in 2014.

CISLAC condemns violation of Sanusi’s rights

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) yesterday expressed concern over the dethronement and subsequent banishment of Emir Sanusi.

The Executive Director, CISLAC, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said in Abuja that while Sanusi’s dethronement was surprising, the imposed banishment of the dethroned Emir to Nasarawa State was nothing but clear infringement on his fundamental rights as guaranteed under Sections 34, 35, 36, 40 and most especially section 41 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

According to him, the Constitutional provisions, safeguards the right of every citizen of Nigeria to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof.

El-Rufai appoints Sanusi vice chair of Kaduna investment board

Governor Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State yesterday appointed dethroned Emir Sanusi into the board of the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) to serve as the vice chairman.

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, stated that the state hopes to benefit from the profile, experience, intellect and networks of the deposed Emir who before his ascension to the throne had built a solid reputation in global financial circles.

The appointment is part of the reconstitution of the board of KADIPA, which is statutorily chaired by the deputy governor, and has as internal members other senior officials of the Kaduna State government,

the statement said.

It quoted Governor El-rufai as saying Kaduna State was honoured to be able to call on the services of a man of Sanusi’s calibre to drive its development.

It said the agency which was established in 2015 had led the investment drive of the state and anchored implementation of the Ease of Doing Business Charter that earned Kaduna State recognition as the Number one place for doing business in Nigeria.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.