Kano Emirship tussle: You are now a private citizen – Gov Yusuf tells Ado Bayero

Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State has declared that the deposed Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, is now a private citizen. This announcement was made on Wednesday through his Chief Press Secretary, Sanusi Bature.

Bature stated that the rulings of the Kano State High Court uphold the State Assembly’s law, which repealed the 2019 Kano Emirate law, thereby making Ado Bayero a private citizen.

In May, Governor Yusuf had dethroned Aminu Bayero and reinstated Muhammad Sanusi as the 15th Emir of Kano. This decision followed the enactment of the 2024 Kano Emirate law by the Kano State House of Assembly, which repealed the 2019 law.

Speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show, Bature said the court rulings affirm Sanusi as the Emir of Kano pending decisions by other courts.

According to Bature: “The decision of the Kano State Assembly has been reaffirmed by the court. Ado Bayero is now a normal citizen, and whatever happened is based on the repealed 2024 law which invalidated the 2019 Emirate laws that divided the Kano Emirate into five.

“Even if the Emir was not reinstated, the State Assembly, under its constitutional responsibility, decided to repeal the law, which is valid. Automatically, we have reverted to the pre-2019 circumstances where Emir Sanusi was the sole Emir of a united Kano State.

“Based on the court’s decision, actions taken under the repealed law were brought to the governor by the Speaker of the State Assembly, and he assented and announced the reinstatement of Emir Sanusi. This occurred at 5:10 PM on May 23, 2024.

“For this reason, we have filed an interlocutory appeal which the judge granted. By this context, Emir Sanusi remains in the palace and continues to discharge all the responsibilities of an Emir of one united Kano while we wait for outcomes in other courts.

“By virtue of the High Court declaring the law as valid, it confirms the deposition of former Emir Ado Bayero, and he remains a private citizen like every other resident of Kano. He should not be seen occupying any government property. That government property is defective; it’s a mud house where he has forcefully stayed for over a month now.”