Commotion in the palace as Sanusi wanted Lagos for exile

 

• The drama, intrigues of his banishment to Nassarawa
• Directs lawyers to contest deposition, banishment

 

BY OUR EDITOR

The dethroned Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II was banished to Nassarawa State by the Kano State government against his choice location, Lagos.

Sanusi who was deposed on Monday for alleged disrespect to lawful instructions from the authorities and refusal to attend official programmes and meetings organised by the government, had wanted to embark on exile in Lagos with his family, but was separated from the family on getting to the airport in Kano.

In a riveting account of the last minutes drama that characterised the former emir’s eviction from the palace by government officials and security personnel, his lawyer, former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, SAN, painted a picture of vindictiveness and celebration of brute force by the authorities.

Mahmoud also revealed that he had instruction from Sanusi to take legal action to challenge the legality of the emir’s detention and banishment as Section 35 of Nigeria’s constitution guarantees every citizen the right to personal liberty.

Addressing the media Tuesday on the events that led to the final removal of the de-robed emir, Mahmoud recounted: “Since the deposition was announced, I was at the palace yesterday (Monday) afternoon in the company of one of my colleagues to consult with the Emir.   We met him in good spirit in company of his family and a few associates.  He said to us that he was waiting for the deposition letter from the Government House and was informed that the Commissioner of Police was on his way along with certain government officials.

“While waiting, there was commotion in the private wing (of) the palace as some unauthorized persons tried to gain entry into the family section.  This led to some scuffle and teargas were fired by the security operatives.  Normalcy was restored after the unauthorized persons along with armed security operatives retreated from the inner part of the palace.

READ: BREAKING: Emir of Kano, Sanusi, dethroned!

“I subsequently, along with my colleagues was able to meet with the Commissioner of Police and other security operatives and with the permission of the emir, they were led to one (of) his sitting rooms where the deposition letter was served on him by an agent of the State Government. The Emir accepted the letter and decided to acknowledge it personally after writing some Quranic Verses in the Arabic script along with his signature. This was handed over (to) the government official.

“In the letter of deposition, it was stated that the Emir was to be removed to Nassarawa State. We requested to know if he was under arrest and if so, we needed to see the warrant. The Commissioner of Police informed us that he was not under arrest. We informed the Commissioner of Police that (it) was illegal and violation of his constitutional rights to remove (him) to Nassarawa State against his wish. The Emir informed the Commissioner of Police that his friends had sent an aircraft to fly him and his family to Lagos and requested that they should be provided with necessary security to the airport so that he could leave. The Commissioner refused saying that was not their instruction. They were willing to allow the family to leave for Lagos but he was to be flown to Abuja then onwards taken to Nassarawa State.

“It was clear to us that both the Emir and ourselves were helpless and the police and other security agents were willing to take any measure and use force to achieve their objective. In order not to jeopardize the Emir’s safety or the safety of any member of his family or indeed other persons around, the Emir decided to cooperate and proceed in the vehicles provided by the operatives. We accompanied the Commissioner of Police to the Nigerian Airforce base in Kano where the Emir was put (on) a private aircraft and departed at about 6.40pm. The family subsequently boarded the aircraft arranged by his friends and departed for Lagos about 15 minutes later.

“Gentlemen, we have not spoken to the Emir since yesterday but we understand they are at their destination somewhere in a remote part of Nassarawa State after driving for nearly seven hours in the night and arrived at about 2.00 am this (Wednesday) morning.”

Mahmoud described the deposition of Sanusi as illegal and unconstitutional, saying that the Kano State Emirate Council Law which was recently enacted by the Government of Kano State did not give the State Executive Council or the Governor of Kano State the powers to unilaterally remove the emir.

He said: “Section 13 of the Kano Emirates Council Law 2019 cited in the letter of deposition empowers the Governor to depose an Emir only after due inquiry and in consultation with State Council of Chiefs.  We are not aware of such due inquiry nor are we aware that the Kano State Council of Chiefs was at any time summoned to any meeting much less discuss the removal of the Emir or give any advice to the Governor on the deposition. Muhammadu Sanusi II was the Chairman of the Council and if such meeting was summoned, he would have been aware. He would have informed us. In our view the action was patently illegal and unconstitutional and a clear abuse of power.”

According to him, the choice of location to detain Sanusi, as he understood, was intended to cause him (Sanusi) maximum trauma and distress.

“This again is illegal and unconstitutional,” he concluded.