El-Kanemi, shehu of Bama, is dead

Kyari Umar El-Kanemi, shehu of Bama in Borno state, has died at the age of 63. 

Babakura Abba Jato, Borno’s commissioner for information and culture, said the first-class traditional ruler died on Monday at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital in Maiduguri, the state capital.

“The Shehu passed away shortly after asr prayer in Maiduguri,” he said.

Jato said the shehu was known to have been battling with protracted illness as many people of his age often deal with.

He said the shehu’s palace will announce funeral arrangements that will be communicated to members of the public.

He added that the state government stands with the royal family and the people of Bama, the state’s council of chiefs and entire people of the state in this grieving period.