By Muktar Adamu Wudil
In a country where public institutions are expected to uphold law and order above politics, the Nigeria Police Force has once again revealed itself as a tool in the hands of power—willing to bend facts, shift language, and reverse its own narrative, all in service of interests far removed from justice. The events surrounding the recent Eid-el-Fitr celebration in Kano, and the treatment of His Highness Emir Muhammad Sanusi II, expose a troubling pattern of manipulation and quiet allegiance to political masters.
On April 6, 2025, the police released an official press statement explaining the withdrawal of an invitation sent to Emir Muhammad Sanusi I to appear before the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja. The release, careful in tone and posture, attempted to frame the invitation as a routine move to obtain Emir Sanusi’s account of what it described as a breakdown of law and order. It claimed that despite an agreement reached with both Emir Sanusi and Aminu Ado Bayero—not to hold Durbar processions on Sallah day, Emir Sanusi violated the understanding by mounting a horse after prayers. The police narrative concluded that this act triggered a confrontation leading to the death of one Usman Sagiru. Although it is curious to know in what capacity, Aminu Ado Bayero, who is now an ordinary prince since his dethronement, was asked not to organize a durbar. He is neither the Emir of Kano nor Wamban Kano.
But that version of events simply does not hold up against the police’s own internal communication, parts of which were made public by the Daily Nigerian newspaper. A police signal sent on Sallah morning clearly reported that Eid prayers across Kano were conducted peacefully. It confirmed that Emir Sanusi prayed at the traditional Kofar Mata Eid ground, later joined by the executive governor of Kano State, and that Aminu Ado Bayero prayed separately at the Nasarawa mini-palace. The report concluded that the area was calm and that events proceeded without incident. This was not speculation—it was a contemporaneous situational report from officers on the ground.
The contradictions didn’t end there. A follow-up signal, also reported by Daily Nigerian, detailed a violent incident that occurred after prayers: an attack on alleged members of Emir Sanusi’s convoy. Two vigilantes assigned to him were stabbed by a group led by one Usman Sagiru. One of the victims later died from his injuries. The attacker was arrested. Notably, the report did not attribute the violence to any procession or Durbar, nor did it blame the Emir. On the contrary, it confirmed that Emir Sanusi’s entourage had been the target of a criminal assault. Even more damning, the signal stated that the murder occurred at 12:40 p.m., hours after the Emir had already retired to his residence.
So why, then, did the police headquarters in Abuja publicly link this violence to the Emir’s act of riding a horse, an act deeply symbolic in Kano’s cultural tradition and widely considered a Sunnah of the Prophet? And why was the Emir invited to Abuja over an incident that their own internal memo shows he neither caused nor escalated?
