Politics
Kano Emirates Saga: Audio Tape Shows Kwankwaso Plotting Ado Bayero’s Dethronement
The political power-play surrounding the fiasco of the Kano Emirates is beginning to unravel to indicate the individual gladiators.
It has come to the fore that a former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso might hold the view the Emirates’ restructuring was part of his unfinished work in demonstration of political dominance.
This was revealed in a leaked telephone conversation, according PRNigeria, which reports that despite claims that Kwankwaso had no hand in the ongoing drama surrounding the Emirates, the former Kano State governor, might be involved, in no small way.
Recall that Kano State has been engulfed in uncertainties following the dissolution of the five Emirates and the subsequent return of Muhammadu Sanusi II as 16th Emir to replace Aminu Ado Bayero, purportedly deposed by the state government as the 15th Emir.
It was gathered that in the leaked phone conversation clip obtained by PRNigeria, a leading fact-check news platform, Kwankwaso got a call from an associate on the removal of Bayero and his replacement with Sanusi as the Kano Emir.
Recall that the Kano State House of Assembly recently repealed the law signed by ex-governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on the five new Emirates, paving the way for Governor Abba Yusuf to sack Bayero and bring back Sanusi.
While the governor’s political mentor, Kwankwaso, said in a BBC interview some days ago that he was not aware of Emir Bayero’s impending sack and Emir Sanusi’s return, a leaked phone conversation with a political associate suggests that the leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) may be the mastermind of the fiasco.
Stakeholders have not forgotten that shortly after Gov Yusuf won the election in 2023, Kwankwaso boasted that the new administration would revisit the new Emirates and Sanusi’s dethronement issues as installing justice in the state.
PRNigeria reports that in the leaked tape, Kwankwaso asks the caller if everything is going smoothly as planned on the replacement of Aminu with Sanusi, to which the latter answers in the affirmative.
It was reported that Kwankwaso also sought if Sanusi had taken over the main palace in Kano city.
It stated, “After obtaining the audio, the PRNigeria Factcheck team decided to subject it to an authenticity test using speech recognition freeware, which proved authentic.
“While Artificial Intelligence software like Deepfake can mimic any voice after a few seconds of listening to it, PRNigeria extracted the audio’s voice and compared it against Kwankwaso’s publicly known voice, and the result was also positive.
“Kwankwaso’s voice also returned with a 90% accuracy level when PRNigeria subjected the audio to the speech recognition test.
“While it is rare for calls to initiate recording on the dial, hackers and other sources using sophisticated gadgets can intercept the same calls.
“PRNigeria, therefore, subjected the audio to a deepfake test using a Deepware scanner, an AI tool used to detect alterations in audio and videos. It found that AI was not used to generate or modify the voices.”
According to PRNigeria, the conversation went thus:
Caller: Salamu Alaikum, Your Excellency, sir
Kwankwaso: Ameen, Ameen
Caller: Weldone sir
Kwankwaso: Ehen, thank you
Caller: Are we deciding on the planned gathering?
Kwankwaso: It has been postponed till Monday
Caller: Okay, let me inform them at the venue
Kwankwaso: Because of the current situation, it won’t be pleasant. It’s better to concentrate and entirely focus on the issue at hand first. By Monday, we do that other one.
Caller: My thoughts exactly
Kwankwaso: Is that our own Emir’s Palace filled with a crowd of people?
Caller: Yes, there are so many people
Kwankwaso: okay…I learned the other Emir had been taken to Nasarawa (Palace), right?
Caller: Yes, they took him to Nasarawa Palace, but the main Emir’s Palace has a lot of people.
Kwankwaso: Okay great
Caller: There are enough forces there
Kwankwaso: No problem
Caller: Many people have trooped out
Kwankwaso: That is great
Caller: Are you going to hold back a bit
Kwankwaso: Yes, I am around
Kwankwaso: Okay (Hails Kwankwaso?)
The judge to whom the suit filed by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was assigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja has stepped down from the matter.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu made the disclosure on Tuesday, in Abuja, explaining that his decision was informed by a petition questioning his impartiality, which was submitted by the Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The matter had been scheduled for hearing, however, when the court clerk called it up, the judge held that he was stepping aside.
He said he would return the case file to the Chief Judge, who would assign it to another judge.
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Recall that on March 4, 2025 Justice Egwuatu issued an interim order stopping the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from proceeding with disciplinary actions against Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The embattled senator was accused of violating the Senate’s rules.
The judge ruled that the disciplinary process should be stood down, until the case was decided.
He also gave the defendants 72 hours to explain why the court should not stop them from investigating the senator without following the rules laid out in the 1999 Constitution, the Senate Standing Order 2023, and the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act.
In addition, Justice Egwuatu allowed the senator to serve legal documents on the defendants using substituted means.
The court ordered that the documents be given to the Clerk of the National Assembly or pasted at the National Assembly premises.
They were also to be published in two national newspapers.
The interim order came after the senator filed an urgent application.
However, despite the court’s ruling, the Senate Committee still held its meeting and suspended her for six months.
Later, after the defendants applied, Justice Egwuatu amended his earlier order.
He removed the part that prevented the Senate from taking any action while the case was ongoing.
Meanwhile, Akpabio’s legal team, led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, questioned the court’s authority to interfere in Senate affairs.
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has thrown its weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, arguing that decisive action was necessary to prevent further deterioration of the crisis.
Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos, NNPP National Chairman, Dr. Agbo Major, stressed that no responsible government would sit back and allow instability to escalate unchecked.
“President Tinubu is the Chief Security Officer of Nigeria. The information available to him as president from intelligence sources may not be in public purview,” Major said.
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He added that the decision to suspend the state government was based on the severity of the crisis, which could have worsened without swift intervention.
“The government in Rivers was suspended, and no one can actually say what would have happened by now, judging from the deepening crisis.
“The crisis was further compounded by some leaders who, instead of offering advice or promoting peace during the turmoil, allowed it to escalate before later stepping in to criticize,” he stated.
Major described the security situation in Rivers State as unacceptable, warning that it posed a threat to lives and property.
He defended President Tinubu’s leadership style, noting that making tough decisions, even when unpopular, was a mark of true governance.
“It was a difficult decision to remove the oil subsidy; one that no previous administration was willing to make, whether right or wrong. Tinubu took that step, and we are gradually emerging from the crisis, moving forward for the better,” he explained.
According to him, the government must have had access to intelligence beyond what was available in the public domain before making its decision.
“Six months or less of the emergency rule is in the interest of Rivers residents, democracy, and Nigeria. It is our hope that indigenes of the state shall be streetwise and disregard those with personal interests, who are crying foul,” Major added.
The NNPP chairman urged Nigerian leaders to be mindful of their statements, warning that inflammatory remarks could worsen tensions in Rivers State and affect national stability.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda for a greater Nigeria should be our focus. It is centered on hard work, trust, science and technology, agriculture, education, the rule of law, and more. Focus should be on constructive criticism that will make for greater performance,” he advised.
Addressing concerns about Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike’s involvement in Rivers politics, Major argued that Wike, as a former governor and indigene, naturally has interests in the state.
“Wike as a minister is neither the Inspector General of Police, Chairman of EFCC, Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Judge of the Federation, nor President of Nigeria. If our institutions are not compliant with their statutory functions, why can’t we leave Wike alone to live his life?”
He also emphasized that while opposition to government is vital for democracy, it must be constructive and aimed at fostering good governance.
“Opposition to the government at the center is the lifeblood of democracy and a catalyst for good governance when it is constructive and aimed at enhancing productivity.
“However, if opposition simply means dismissing everything the government does as wrong, then something is definitely amiss,” Major concluded.
Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo has expressed solidarity with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the state of emergency declared in Rivers State.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Edo State Governor, Fred Itua, vented this in a statement in Benin City on Thursday night, asserting that his principal was not consulted by his colleagues in the South-South Governors’ Forum before going public with their view.
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Itua wrote, “The position by the Governors of the South-South, opposing the declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, did not get the nod of Governor Okpebholo. Governor Okpebholo was neither consulted nor informed.
“While Governor Monday Okpebholo acknowledges the right of other Governors in the South-South geopolitical zone to take a position, he, however dissociates himself from any statement that opposes the declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, understands the issues at stake.
“Governor Okpebholo supports actions so far taken by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that will bring lasting solutions and peace to Rivers State and the South-South geopolitical zone.”
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