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IGP SUMMONS KANO GOVERNOR’S SPOKESPERSON OVER GANDUJE
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has again summoned Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa, spokesperson to Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, to appear at the Force Headquarters over allegations of criminal defamation and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.
The summons, dated May 23, 2025, with file number CR/3000/IGP-SEC/MU/ADM/14/ABJ/VOL 118/57, was addressed to the Secretary to the State Government of Kano. It requested that Dawakin-Tofa report to one SP Mojirode B. Obisiji at the IGP Monitoring Unit, Louis Edet House, Abuja, by 12:00pm on Thursday, May 29, 2025.
The letter, signed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Akin Fakorede, Head of the IGP Monitoring Unit, stated that the police are investigating a case involving “criminal defamation of character, intentional insult, impersonation, and conduct likely to cause breach of peace” in which Dawakin-Tofa “featured prominently.”
The allegations stem from the controversial suspension of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, by executives of his Ganduje Ward in 2024 over alleged anti-party activities and non-payment of dues.
Dawakin-Tofa, a native of the same locality as Ganduje, was accused of masterminding the suspension—an allegation he has consistently denied.
The latest police invitation follows a similar attempt by the Force in December 2024, when operatives from the IGP’s Monitoring Unit were deployed to arrest the governor’s spokesperson.
In response, Dawakin-Tofa obtained an interim court injunction on December 12, 2024, restraining the IGP, the DSS, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and other security agencies from arresting or harassing him.
The order, granted under suit number K/M2500/2024, also extended to top police officials including the AIG Zone 1, Kano Commissioner of Police, SP Mojirode Obisiji, and DCP Akin Fakorede. It cited a potential violation of Dawakin-Tofa’s constitutional rights to liberty, dignity and freedom of movement.
Despite the injunction, a Kano State High Court later dismissed the case filed by Dawakin-Tofa against the APC’s Acting National Chairman and the IGP. His legal counsel, Barr. H.M. Muhammad, has since appealed the ruling at the Court of Appeal, Kano Division, as of May 2025.
The rift between Ganduje and Dawakin-Tofa dates back to 2015 when Ganduje, then governor-elect, allegedly ordered the arrest of Dawakin-Tofa for his opposition activities during the election period.
