The siege on the palace of the newly-appointed Emir of Kano, HRH Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was lifted after the emir has switched from resistance to negotiations and talked to President Goodluck Jonathan, both directly and indirectly, Premium Times reports.
* The Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, leaves the Government House for the monarch’s palace in Kano. Photo credit – SaharaReporters
The four-day-long police operation has been reportedly cancelled by the “order from the above” in the night of June 12, 2014, Thursday. This became possible after the new monarch begged Jonathan to forgive him previous trespasses and stop the blockade. Sanusi’s associates were also helpful in the negotiations.
At the same time the police force denied any that the fact of the blockade itself, as well as its actions in accordance with Jonathan’s orders.
The Police Commissioner of Kano State, Aderele Shinaba, declared that his men left the palace because the peace was installed in the area, and all the hoodlums terrorising the area had left.
The police chief stated that it was all his initiative, and not an order from the presidency.
However, multiple sources, such as presidency insiders, palace sources and other informed persons did not believe Shinaba’s statement, insisted that the siege was authorised by Jonathan himself, and that the crisis was resolved only after influential Nigerians had intervened on his behalf.
According to PremiumTimes, one of the alleged intermediaries was the Minister of Defence, Aliyu Gusau.
However, the president acted only after Lamido Sanusi’s personal address on June 12, 2014, Thursday, in which the newly-crowned emir pledged his “loyalty and friendship”.
Two undisclosed sources of PremiumTimes confirmed that communication with Goodluck Jonathan was arranged by a presidential principal secretary, Hassan Tukur.
“Sanusi told the president he was sorry for anything he might have done wrong in the past and asked the president to consider him henceforth as a friend.
“The new emir also assured the president he will not be partisan during his reign, and will not aid the opposition All Progressives Congress, in any way,” the source said.
The official reaction of the presidency on the development of the situation in Kano is awaited.
It would be recalled that the blockade of monarch’s palace in the city of Kano has started right after Lamido Sanusi’s proclamation as the new emir. The security operatives insisted that their move was aimed at protecting the place from looters and arsonists, who were angry by the decision to install the immediate past CBN boss on the throne.
The Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, however, assured that the police acted on the orders of the president and intended to arrest Lamido Sanusi. He further accused President Jonathan of plotting to liquidate him.
The Kano State, and its traditional ruler in particular, may influence a lot on the outcome of 2015 general elections due to the population and state’s level of influence.
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