Revealed: How Sanusi Received Deposition Letter Amidst Scuffle

By Supo Giwa

Details of the tense moments that followed the first news of the deposition of Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi and the scuffle that preceded the delivery of the letter of deposition emerged in Kano on Tuesday.

The deposed emir it was learned waited patiently with associates in his private quarters in the emir’s palace in Kano after hearing the news over the air, his lawyer said on Tuesday evening.

The arrival of the letter of deposition was preceded by a scuffle when some unidentified men tried to breach his private quarters and were stiffly resisted.

The deposed emir, however, decided to go quietly to avoid bruises to his family members and associates in the face of the overwhelming force that was assigned to carry out the deposition. The security deployment was led by the commissioner of police, the lawyer to the deposed emir, Abubakar Mahmood, SAN said at a press conference in Kano late on Tuesday.

He said:

“I was at the Palace yesterday 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 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.

“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 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 the government official.”

He debunked as untenable the justification for the deposition that the emir was derelict in his official functions and failed to attend meetings of the Council of Chiefs.

Asserting that as the chairman of the State Council of Chiefs that he would be in the know on any meeting, he said:

“The reason given in the letter of deposition of the Emir dated 9th March, 2020, was alleged ‘disrespect to lawful instructions from the authorities’. The Emir was also alleged to have ‘refused to attend official programmes and meetings organized by the Government’, As far as we are aware, there has not been any notice of such disrespect ever given to the Emir or querry issued to him for refusal to attend official functions.

“He was never given any opportunity to defend himself against those charges.  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  advise 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.”

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