Palpable tension is brewing in the ancient city of Kano following the invitation of the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
The invite is in connection with violence that occurred during the recent Sallah celebration which led to the murder of one of his security aides who was stabbed to death by hoodlums.
The invitation of the Emir to appear before the IG at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, April 8, was contained in a letter dated April 4 and signed by a Commissioner of Police (Operations), Olajide Ibitoye.
According to the letter, the invitation is in relation to an ongoing investigation into the controversial Durbar procession which was held in defiance of a police ban on holding the procession.
The invitation letter with reference number CR:3000/FID/FHQ/ABJ/VOL59/697 and signed by Ibitoye on behalf of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Force Intelligence Department (FID), Abuja, reads:
“I have the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, through the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Intelligence Department (FID), to invite you for an investigative meeting regarding an incident that occurred during the Sallah celebrations within your domain.”
Violence had broken out during the Sallah procession when a vigilante member attached to Sanusi’s entourage, Surajo Rabiu, was stabbed to death, while another vigilante member, Aminu Suleman, sustained injuries and was rushed to the Murtala Muhammed Specialists Hospital, Kano, for medical treatment.
Following the incident, the state police command spokesman, SP Abdullahi Haruna, had, in a statement, said the incident occurred while the local guards were protecting the entourage of Emir Sanusi II on their way from the Kofar Mata Eid prayer ground after observing the two rakat eid-el-fitr prayers.
Haruna added that the command had arrested one Usman Sagiru in connection with the alleged killing of the vigilante member.
However, the invitation of Emir Sanusi has led to dissenting voices in the state as some residents loyal to the Emir believe the police is playing out an orchestrated script in the ongoing tussle for the monarchy between Sanusi and Ado Bayero with a view to removing the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Some residents who spoke to journalists on Saturday, kicked against the invitation of the Emir by the police, describing it as a plot by the federal government to impose a state of emergency in the state.
They also view the invitation as another means of removing Sanusi as the Emir of Kano.
© Ripples Nigeria
