Kano court orders police to evict Bayero from Nassarawa palace

A Kano state high court has restrained Aminu Bayero from parading himself as the Emir of Kano pending the determination of the suit.

The court also ordered the police to take over the Nassarawa palace, where Bayero has been staying since he returned to Kano on Saturday.

Amina Aliyu, the presiding judge, made the ruling on Monday following an ex parte application filed by Ibrahim Isa Wangida, the counsel to the applicants.

The applicants in the suit are the attorney-general of Kano, the speaker, and the Kano house of assembly.

Defendants are Aminu Ado Bayero, Nasiru Ado Bayero, Ibrahim Abubakar II, Kabiru Muhammad Inuwa, Aliyu Ibrahim Gaya, inspector-general of police (IGP), director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Nigerian Army.

The judge also restrained the dethroned four other emirs of the disbanded emirates from parading themselves as monarchs in Kano.

“That an order of this Hon. Court is hereby granted restraining the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th Defendants from parading themselves as Emirs of Kano, Bichi, Gaya, Rano and Karaye in the interest of peace in Kano pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice,” the judge ruled.

“That an order is hereby made that 1st 5th Defendants be served through the office of the Commissioner Police, Kano State who is to ensure immediate implementation of the order of the Hon. Court in the interest of justice.”

The case was adjourned to June 11 for a hearing.

THE CONTROVERSY

Sanusi was reinstated as Emir on Friday by Abba Yusuf, governor of Kano, at a colourful ceremony in the government house.

The Kano house of assembly repealed the law that Abdullahi Ganduje, the former governor of the state, used to depose and exile Sanusi in 2020.

The repeal paved the way for the reinstatement of Sanusi and the dethronement of Aminu Bayero.

On May 23, a federal high court in Kano ordered the state government not to enforce the Emirate Council Repeal Law 2024.

Bayero returned to Kano from a trip to Ogun on Saturday and moved into a palace in Nassarawa LGA.

Abba Yusuf, the Kano governor, ordered Bayero’s arrest “for creating tension in the state”.

A detachment of soldiers has been keeping watch over the Nassarawa palace since the arrest order.

Subsequently, Usaini Gumel, commissioner of police in Kano, said security agencies would obey the court order on Sanusi’s reinstatement.

Amid the controversy, supporters of Bayero took to the streets to protest the dethronement.