Tensions in Kano escalated on Sunday as supporters of the deposed 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, and those loyal to the reinstated 16th Emir, Muhammadu Sanusi II, clashed at the Kofar Kudu palace.
The confrontation reportedly occurred as Emir Bayero returned from his Mandawari residence. During the incident, the palace gate was allegedly forced open, guards were assaulted and injured, and police vehicles inside the palace were vandalised.
The clash is the latest in a string of confrontations following the Kano State Government’s controversial decision to reinstate Muhammadu Sanusi II as Emir of Kano after repealing the emirate law that had created four new emirates. The decision has since been challenged in court, with Bayero refusing to vacate his position and continuing to occupy the Nasarawa Palace under tight security.
In response to the incident, civil society groups and elder statesmen have called for calm on both sides and urged the factions to allow the legal process to resolve the crisis.
A statement from the Kano Emirate Media Team, signed by Sadam Yakasai, alleged that the attack was orchestrated by Bayero’s supporters in the absence of Emir Sanusi, who was not at the palace when the violence broke out. According to Yakasai, “They broke the gate, attacked the guards, injuring some of them, and destroyed police vehicles stationed within the palace.”
Yakasai further accused Emir Bayero of deliberately taking a provocative route through the palace grounds rather than using the usual road from Koki to Nasarawa, claiming this has become a pattern aimed at intimidating loyalists of Emir Sanusi and disrupting peace.
He added that Bayero lacks institutional backing, stating that 37 of the 38 district heads in the Kano Emirate have pledged loyalty to Sanusi. He also cited the recent turbaning of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s nephew as village head of Ganduje by Emir Sanusi as evidence of growing recognition of Sanusi’s authority.
“This is the first time deposed Emir Aminu Ado Bayero is taking his fight directly to Gidan Rumfa,” Yakasai said, describing the move as an attempt to provoke confrontation and destabilise the restored leadership.
