Former Kano State Governor and National Leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, has called on the Kano State Commissioner of Police to withdraw security operatives stationed at the Nasarawa Mini Palace, where the 15th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, is currently residing.

Kwankwaso made the appeal on Tuesday while speaking at the official launch of the Kano State Government–owned Neighbourhood Watch Corps in Kano.

He criticised the continued security presence at the palace, insisting that it contradicts Kano’s traditions and could inflame tensions in the state.

The call follows the decision of the Abba Yusuf–led state government to sack Bayero and reinstate the formerly dethroned monarch, Muhammadu Sanusi II, as Emir of Kano.

Kwankwaso maintained that Sanusi remains the only legitimate emir, warning that the existence of parallel traditional institutions could threaten peace and stability in Kano State.

“The legitimate Emir of Kano is Muhammadu Sanusi II. He remains the rightful Emir of Kano,” Kwankwaso said.

The Kano Emirate crisis dates back to March 2020, when then-Governor Abdullahi Ganduje dethroned Sanusi II, citing alleged insubordination and political differences.

Ganduje subsequently split the Kano Emirate into four and appointed Aminu Ado Bayero alongside three others as first-class emirs.

However, Ganduje’s successor, Abba Yusuf—widely regarded as Kwankwaso’s political protégé—reversed the policy by dissolving the additional emirates through a new law passed by the State House of Assembly.

The law restored the unified Kano Emirate and led to the reinstatement of Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Despite the development, Bayero has insisted that he remains the Emir of Kano.

He vacated the main palace and relocated to the Nasarawa Mini Palace after a palace chief, Dan Agundi, approached the court seeking the enforcement of Bayero’s fundamental human rights.

Kwankwaso has since condemned the deployment of security personnel to maintain Bayero’s stay at the Nasarawa Mini Palace, describing the action as provocative and a potential threat to lasting peace in the state. (The Nation)