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KANO EMIRATE TUSSLE: SANUSI LEADS FRIDAY PRAYERS AS GOV YUSUF APOLOGISES TO NSA, RIBADU, OVER FALSE ACCUSATION
The Kano State Police Command has revealed that the 16th Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido will lead the Friday prayers at the Central Mosque.
This is coming amid reports that Alhaji Aminu Bayero, the 15th Emir would lead the prayers.
The Commissioner of Police, Usaini Gumel, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview on Friday, that Bayero will observe his Friday prayers in the mosque within the Nasarawa Palace, where he currently resides.
The commissioner said the police and other state security agencies will provide robust security at the Emir’s Palace, where Emir Muhammad Sanusi II is expected to lead the Jummah prayers.
”The police urge the general public to disregard the false reports and misinformation circulating on social media and go about their activities without fear of molestation or intimidation.
”The police will continue to provide necessary security to ensure that will enable residents to observe their Friday congressional prayers peacefully without threats to their lives and property,” he said.
He urged the people to volunteer credible information on the movement of dubious characters for prompt security action in the state.
In another development, Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has tendered an apology to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, after he was accused of meddling in the Kano emirship crisis.
The governor apologised to Ribadu during a meeting with the NSA which was held behind closed doors in his office in Abuja on Thursday, sources told Daily Trust.
Governor Yusuf had dethroned Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero as Emir of Kano and reinstated Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II following the enactment of the Kano State Emirates Council Law 2024.
The governor ordered Bayero’s arrest after his return to Kano and occupation of the Nassarawa palace, citing concerns about escalating tension in the state.
This led to the deployment of troops to the palace, giving the impression that he had the federal government’s backing.
Aminu Abdulsalam Gwarzo, deputy governor of the state, had accused Ribadu of giving Ado Bayero support to return to Kano after his dethronement.
Ribadu had denied the allegation and threatened to sue Gwarzo, to whom he gave an ultimatum to apologise.
The deputy governor had since tendered an apology to Ribadu, attributing the allegation to flawed intelligence.
Although Governor Yusuf described his meeting yesterday with Ribadu as a “fruitful engagement”, sources privy to what was discussed said the governor apologised verbally to Ribadu over what transpired last week.
“The governor and the NSA spoke heart-to-heart in Hausa. He appealed verbally to the NSA over the comment made by his deputy last week.
“The governor felt that apologising to him in the media was not enough, hence the reason for the personal visit to Abuja,” one of the sources told Daily Trust.
Also, the governor’s spokesman, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, in a statement yesterday, confirmed that Governor Yusuf retracted the allegation and offered an apology to the NSA.
He said the meeting, which lasted for more than an hour, discussed the situation in the state since the abrogation of five new emirates and the reinstatement of Sanusi as emir.
“Recognizing the respected professional background and integrity of the NSA throughout his time as an officer and anti-corruption campaigner, the state deemed it necessary to retract the allegation and offer a sincere apology,” the statement said.
The meeting coincided with Sanusi’s sixth day at the Kano palace, where a significant majority of district heads and members of the Tijjaniyya Shura Council, a council of the Islamic sect, have affirmed their loyalty to him.
It was observed yesterday that many Kano residents were going about their normal activities.
Although security agents were seen at the emir’s palace and guest house where Bayero is currently staying, the residents of the city seem undisturbed by their presence.
