The Kano State Government has accused the Federal Government of orchestrating the barricade of the palace of the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, by security operatives on Thursday.
The Secretary to the State Government, Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, made the claims during an interview on a local radio station.
The incident, which took many by surprise, saw the police sealing off the entrance to the emir’s palace in Kano city, preventing planned activities.
Bichi expressed shock over the development, describing it as a deliberate move to create unrest in the peaceful state.
“We were really surprised waking up to this development with police sealing off the entrance to the palace of Kano Emir, Muhammadu Sanusi II,” Bichi said.
He further alleged that the order to barricade the palace came directly from the Federal Government. “What surprises us the most is that Kano is peaceful, but it’s just a few people that have the backing of Abuja that don’t want Kano to be peaceful,” he added.
According to Bichi, the Emir had planned to escort his newly appointed district head of Bichi, Wamban Kano, to his district for prayers and ceremonial activities.
“The emir was to escort his district head of Bichi, Wamban Kano, pray with him there, and then come back. We were all invited and then we woke up to this,” he explained.