Jonathan bows to pressure over Sanusi

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday bowed to pressure to allow for the reopening of the Kano Emir’s Palace, which had been under siege by security forces following Lamido Sanusi’s appointment as new emir on Sunday.


Daily Trust learnt in Kano that top Northern elders mounted pressure on the president, and drew his attention to the dangers of keeping the palace sealed indefinitely.

Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso had alleged on Wednesday that President Jonathan ordered the blockade on the palace so as to prevent Sanusi from relocating there. The police had denied this, saying they were only protecting the palace from hoodlums. Following the pressure on the president, soldiers and policemen who had been stationed at the palace since Tuesday morning were withdrawn around 6.30pm yesterday.

A Daily Trust correspondent, who visited the palace around 7.30pm, reported that vehicles were now driving in and out of the palace, as against what was obtainable during the siege. Security sources said some of the security men who had been deployed from Jigawa State to join the palace siege have now returned to their posts, and those from Kano have also moved back to their respective formations.

Earlier yesterday, a prominent northern elder statesman told Daily Trust in Kano that they were trying to persuade the president to shift ground and withdraw security men from the palace in order to allow Lamido Sanusi to relocate there. “I’m involved in finding solution to the problem. Right now the president is being persuaded to allow the relocation of the new emir to enter the palace tomorrow (today),” he said, asking not to be named.

The palace was sealed just when Sanusi was to relocate there on Tuesday, in line with tradition. The new emir had since been holding court at the Government House, which was being guarded by vigilantes and Hisbah men, following the reduction in number of security forces stationed there. With the removal of the security blockade yesterday, Sanusi may relocate today, palace and government sources said.

- Daily Trust