The Nigerian Army has described as “false”, the claim by the Kano State chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) that soldiers were involved in enforcing a court order restraining the state government from deposing five Emirs in the state.

The Director of Army Public Relations, Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, made this known via a statement issued on Sunday, May 26, 2024.

“Contrary to insinuations by the Kano State chapter of NBA, troops of the Nigerian Army have not been involved in the Kano State emirate tussle and are not involved in enforcing any court order,” Nwachukwu noted.

Nwachukwu said the military had only taken proactive steps to checkmate any possible breakdown or breach of security that might be occasioned by the tussle.

He said the issue of paramount concern to the army and other security agencies was the prevention of breakdown of law and order in the state which, he added, the adversarial non-state actors could take advantage of.

The army spokesperson said: “The military will imminently intervene when it becomes apparent that the intensity of the security situation becomes overwhelming for the police.

Protest rocks Kano over Bayero’s dethronement as Emir

“All the army is doing at this stage is to monitor the situation as it unfolds and be on standby in the event of any escalation that could threaten the security of the state and the region in general.”

There has been unrest in Kano after Governor Abba Yusuf signed the Kano Emirate Bill (2024) into law and announced the return of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Emir of Kano.

Yusuf also deposed the Emirs of Kano, Bichi, Karaye, Rano, and Gaya and directed them to vacate their palaces.

The governor later ordered Aminu Bayero’s arrest after the deposed Emir moved into a palace in Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State.

The Federal High Court had, on Thursday, halted Sanusi’s installation as the new Emir after the state government repealed the Emirates Council Law which dissolved the five Emirates created by former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

Sanusi was removed from office in March 2020 by Ganduje, who cited insubordination as the reason for his action.

Sanusi was however reinstated as the 16th Emir of Kano at the Government House on Friday and has since taken up residence in the palace.

Scores of protesters, on Sunday, took to the streets in Kano to protest the dethronement of Bayero.

The Star