Sanusi Lamido Sanusi escaped arrest after emerging new Emir of Kano

The new Emir of Kano Lamido Sanusi on Sunday narrowly escaped being arrested by security operatives at his personal residence in Kano hours after he was appointed to the coveted throne.

A source who declined to be named for security reasons said the Kano state Government hurriedly sneaked Mr. Sanusi out of his personal residence after receiving intelligence that the Federal Government was plotting to arrest him to stop him from being turbaned.

“It is true his royal highness did not sleep in his house after information came that there are moves to arrest him for reasons we don’t know,” the source said. “The governor had to arrange for him to be smuggled into the Government House where he passed the night.”

It is not clear why the government wanted to arrest the emir. 

Mr. Sanusi has however been having a running battle with the administration after he was, on February 20, suspended from office as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria by President Goodluck Jonathan while he was away in Niamey, Niger Republic, on official assignment.

Upon his return to Nigeria, operatives of the State Security Service, briefly arrested and detained him, and also confiscated his passport.

Mr. Jonathan had stated that Mr. Sanusi was suspended over allegations of financial recklessness by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRC, an accusation Mr. Sanusi denied.

On May 3, SSS operatives at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport again prevented him from travelling out of the country.

They also seized his passport again despite his presentation of an order of a Lagos High Court preventing the government from harassing him and restraining his movement.

The SSS had through its counsel stated that it seized Mr. Sanusi’s passport because he was being investigated for sponsoring terrorism, a claim the court described as an afterthought.