Kano High Court to hear motion restraining Aminu Bayero, four others from presenting themselves as Emirs

A Kano High Court has scheduled June 24, 2024, for the hearing of a motion ex-parte seeking to restrain the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Bayero, and the Emirs of Gaya, Karaye, Rano, and Bichi from presenting themselves as Emirs. This decision came after Justice Amina Aliyu, the presiding judge, listened to arguments from both applicants on whether the defendants had been served with the order.

Daily News 24 reports that the suit, filed by the Attorney General of Kano State, the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, and the Kano State House of Assembly, aims to prevent the Emirs from presenting themselves in their traditional roles. 

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The defendants include Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, Alhaji Nasiru Bayero, Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar II, Alhaji Kabiru Muhammad Inuwa, Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Gaya, the Inspector General of Police, the Director of the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the Nigerian Army.

Justice Aliyu directed the Commissioner of Police to take over the palace where Aminu Bayero resides and evict him. The order was to be served through the office of the Commissioner of Police. However, the hearing was stalled because the defendants had not been served with the order.

The current crisis in the Kano Emirate began weeks ago with the dethronement of Emir Aminu Bayero and four other first-class Emirs of Rano, Gaya, Bichi, and Karaye. 

Bayero’s dethronement and the reinstatement of Lamido Sanusi as Emir followed the repeal of the law that former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje used to depose and exile Sanusi in 2020.

Sanusi, the 16th Emir of Kano, was removed from his position by Ganduje’s administration for alleged insubordination and exiled to Awe in Nasarawa State. Following these events, the Kano State House of Assembly, controlled by the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), passed the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Bill 2024, dissolving all five emirate councils in the state – Bichi, Karaye, Gaya, Rano, and Kano – created by Ganduje.

At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, security was tight around the court premises, with operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) positioned strategically to maintain order and prevent any breakdown of law and order.