The Director General of Information and Communication to the Kano State Governor, Mallam Sunusi Bature, has accused the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, of allegedly drafting 46 armed security prrsonnel to arrest him.
Bature claimed that Ganduje wants to arrest him because of reports that the APC chairman was suspended by the executives of the party at his ward.
In another development, a Kano High Court has restrained the Inspector General of Police, the DSS, and other security agencies, from arresting Bature.
This legal reprieve followed allegations by Ganduje, accusing Bature of orchestrating his suspension at the APC ward level six months ago.
The court granted the ex-parte order on December 12, 2024, shielding Bature from what his legal team described as “harassment and intimidation”.
The order also extends to several high-ranking officers, including the AIG Zone 1, Kano State Commissioner of Police, and SP Mojirade Obisiji.
According to the suit numbered K/M2500/2024, the order prohibits any action that could infringe on Bature’s fundamental rights to liberty, dignity and freedom of movement.
Ganduje had alleged a conspiracy spearheaded by Bature, who hails from the same local government, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party-led Kano State Government.
Ganduje claimed they were behind his purported suspension, a move he described as an attempt to cripple his political influence.
Acting on Ganduje’s petition, the IGP had summoned Bature to Abuja, alongside Ganduje’s APC ward executives, citing allegations of conspiracy and actions likely to breach public peace.
This confrontation, rooted in a longstanding power struggle between Kano’s two most prominent political figures, Ganduje and former governor Musa Kwankwaso, has further strained the already tense relationship between Ganduje and his successor, Governor Abba Yusuf.
Bature, through his legal team led by Barr. Haruna Musa Muhammad, countered the invitation with a lawsuit, describing it as a politically motivated move designed to tarnish his reputation and disrupt his duties.
The court also directed that all legal documents be served to the respondents, including the APC and senior police officers, through special bailiffs.
The animosity between Bature and Ganduje dates back nine years to 2015, when Ganduje, as governor-elect, reportedly ordered Bature’s arrest for campaigning against him during that year’s gubernatorial election.
In this latest twist, Ganduje allegedly briefed the IGP that Bature masterminded his suspension by the APC ward executives.
Consequently, a team of 40 police officers from the IGP Monitoring Unit was reportedly mobilized to Kano with the sole aim of apprehending the governor’s spokesperson after he declined the IGP’s invitation.
Efforts to reach the National Police Spokesperson (FPPRO) were unsuccessful, as calls, and text messages sent to his phone, went unanswered.
Similarly, Bature declined to comment on the matter, stating that it is already before the court.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 22, 2025.
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