Nuhu Sanusi, Emir of Dutse, is dead

Nuhu Sanusi, the Emir of Dutse, is dead.

In a statement by Auwalu Sankara, Jigawa commissioner for special duties, the emir died on Tuesday at a hospital in Abuja after a protracted illness.

He was 78 years old at the time of his death.

Sankara said Muhammad Badaru, governor of Jigawa, described the late emir as a “true leader and respected figure”.

“The death of the emir has been met with sadness and mourning in the community and across the state,” Badaru was quoted as saying.

Sankara added that the late emir’s funeral prayer would hold on Wednesday at the Dutse central prayer ground by 2pm.

Emir Sanusi, before his death, was the chancellor of the Sokoto State University, and spent 28 years on the throne.

Hours before his death, Sanusi hosted Peter Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed, the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the Labour Party (LP), at his palace in Dutse, the Jigawa capital.

Meanwhile, in a statement by Garba Shehu, presidential spokesperson, President Muhammadu Buhari described the late emir as a significant model of development in the state.

“He was instrumental to the progress Dutse had achieved in the last three decades under his watch. He was a grassroots person who was loved by all,” Buhari said.