The Kano State Government has accused the Federal Government of orchestrating the barricade of the palace of the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, by security operatives on Thursday.
The Secretary to the State Government, Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, made the claims during an interview on a local radio station.
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The police had blocked the entrance to the emir’s palace in Kano city, preventing planned activities.
Reacting to this, Bichi labelled the barricade as a deliberate move to create unrest in the peaceful state.
“We were really surprised waking up to this development with police sealing off the entrance to the palace of Kano Emir, Muhammadu Sanusi II,” Bichi said.
Bichi also alleged that the order to barricade the palace came directly from the Federal Government, saying, “What surprises us the most is that Kano is peaceful, but it’s just a few people that have the backing of Abuja that don’t want Kano to be peaceful.”
Bichi claimed that the Emir had planned to escort his newly appointed district head of Bichi, Wamban Kano, to his district for prayers and ceremonial activities.
“The emir was to escort his district head of Bichi, Wamban Kano, pray with him there, and then come back. We were all invited, and then we woke up to this,” he explained.
“We asked the reason, and they told us it was an order given to them from above. Who is there above? It’s the Federal Government.”
Meanwhile, the Kano State Government has vowed to proceed with the planned activities and uphold peace in the state.
“We in Kano have resolved to stay in peace; peace will reign, and nobody will come to Kano and destabilize that,” he said, adding: “The emir has appointed the district head, and it stands.
He will take him to his place, and whenever he is ready to go there, we are going there with him—no going back.”