Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero: Dethroned Emir of Kano
In a significant development, the High Court of Kano State has directed the Commissioner of Police to evict deposed Emir Aminu Ado Bayero from the mini palace in the Nasarawa area of Kano metropolis. The court also issued an interim injunction preventing Bayero from parading himself as the Emir of Kano.
The orders were delivered by Hon. Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu of High Court No. 7 on Miller Road, Kano. The directives were issued in response to a suit filed by the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, and the State House of Assembly against Bayero and four other deposed emirs: Alhaji Nasiru Ado Bayero, Dr Ibrahim Abubakar II, Alhaji Kabiru Muhammad Inuwa, and Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Gaya.
The court’s order stated: “An order is hereby granted to the extent that the Commissioner of Police Kano State should immediately take over the palace of the Emir of Kano situated being and lying at State Road Kano and evict the 1st Defendant/Respondent from the said palace pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice dated 24th May 2024.”
Additionally, the court restrained the five defendants from parading themselves as emirs in the interest of peace in Kano. “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 court declared.
The court also mandated that the Commissioner of Police ensure immediate implementation of the order. The hearing of the motion on notice is scheduled for June 11, 2024.
This judicial intervention follows the signing of the Kano State Emirate Council Law 2024 by Governor Abba Yusuf, which dissolved four new emirates and restored the Kano Emirate to its pre-2019 status. Following the law’s enactment, Governor Yusuf issued a reappointment letter to Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, reinstating him as the Emir of Kano and ordering the affected emirs to vacate their palaces within 48 hours.
Since Saturday, the State Police Command has vowed to enforce an interim order from the Federal High Court in Kano, which challenges Sanusi II’s reinstatement. The situation has kept the city on edge, with Bayero remaining in the Nasarawa mini palace under heavy security, while Sanusi II operates from the main palace, secured by vigilantes and local hunters.
The ongoing legal and political tussle has intensified tensions in Kano, a commercial hub, as the state grapples with the implications of these conflicting court orders and governmental directives.