Police Arrest 4 Over Clash By Supporters of Rival Kano ‘Emirs’

The Kano State Police Command said it has arrested four suspects in connection with the clash at the Kofar Kudu palace of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II in Kano metropolis, on Sunday.

Supporters of the 16th Emir of Kano, Emir Sanusi II and those of the 15th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, had altercations on Sunday at the Kofar Kudu palace of Emir Sanusi.

Spokesperson of the Command, SP Abdullahi Kiyawa, told journalists in Kano, that the suspects were in police custody and undergoing investigation.

According to Kiyawa, the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Ibrahim Bakori has set up a panel to investigate the squabble.

Meanwhile, in reaction to the Sunday incident, the media aide to Emir Bayero, Khalid Uba told LEADERSHIP that the supporters of the monarch only acted in self-defense.

Uba who spoke to our correspondent via a telephone interview maintained that, no one on Emir’s Bayero entourage carried any form of weapon, but were forced to repel an attack from the other camp.

According to him, Emir Bayero’s passage on that route was not his first – “Upon our arrival from Dantata house on a condolence visit, some youths stormed the road with stones and weapons at Kofar Kudu.

“When we arrived towards Kofar Kudu, they started throwing stones at us but fortunately, we were able to chase them back into the house and the Emir passed successfully without injuring anyone,” he said.

On the alleged eviction of Emir Bayero’s loyalists from the palace, Uba confirmed the incident, saying they have received various complaints on the matter.

One of the victims who did not want to be named told our correspondent that, the ugly incident has left her and her family members devastated as they were forced to leave the palace.

She alleged that they were chased out with thugs who removed their roof sheets, doors and windows before directing them to vacate the palace within 24 hours.

The source added that the people scouted for those who dislikes Emir Sanusi and are loyalists of Emir Bayero, claiming that those who resisted eviction were threatened.

“Some of the people at Kofar Kwaru were given prior notice on Sunday around 12 midnight to evacuate on Monday while people like us were stumbled upon on Monday to leave.

“It took the intervention of the police before they allowed us to stay overnight to today (Tuesday), but right now, we have loaded our things to manage with some relatives,” she explained.