Headlines
Kano Gov Approves Appointment of Three Second Class Emirs
The Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, has approved the appointment of three second-class emirs, according to an announcement by the Director General of Press to the Governor, Sanusi Bature.
They are: Alhaji Muhammad Mahraz Karaye, Emir of Karaye, Alhaji Muhammad Isa Umar, Emir of Rano, and Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Abdulkadir Gaya, Emir of Gaya.
The appointments that take effect immediately will see the new emirates serving as second with Kano as first-class emirate.
Yusuf named the newly appointed Alhaji Muhammad Karaye as the Emir of Karaye. He was the District Head of Rogo before his latest appointment.
Alhaji Muhammad Umar was named the Emir of Rano. He was the District Head of Bunkure before the latest appointment.
The governor also named Alhaji Aliyu Abdulkadir Gaya as the Emir of Gaya. He was the emir of the defunct Gaya emirate, who was dethroned among others recently.
The development follows the signing of the Kano State Emirate Council Establishment Bill 2024 into law by the governor on Tuesday.
The legislation, passed by the State House of Assembly, aims to bridge the gap between the grassroots and the government while sustaining the rich cultural values and norms of the people.
The new law establishes second-class Emirate Councils in Rano, Gaya, and Karaye, each responsible for specific local government areas.
Governor Yusuf said, “The Rano Emirate consists of Rano, Kibiya, and Bunkure Local Government Areas. Gaya Emirate consists of Gaya, Albasu, and Ajingi Local Government Areas while Karaye Emirate consists of Karaye and Rogo Local Government Areas.”
According to the governor, these councils will have powers to advise the Emir of Kano on matters related to the maintenance of public order and boundary disputes within their jurisdictions.
Speaking after the signing ceremony, the governor emphasised the law’s importance. “This law is vital in sustaining the rich cultural values and norms of our people. It will also bridge the gap between the grassroots and the government,” he said.
The existing Kano Emirate Council, headed by a first-class Emir as Chairman, will be supported by these second-class Emirate Councils.
The jurisdiction of the second-class emirates will be limited to their respective local government areas.
The Speaker of the House, Jibrin Falgore, reiterated the Assembly’s commitment to promoting the well-being of Kano State’s people. “We are dedicated to passing laws that enhance the governance structure and improve the lives of our citizens,” he stated.
This development is expected to have a positive impact on the governance structure of Kano State, ensuring that traditional institutions play a crucial role in local administration and cultural preservation.
Back in May, the governor dethroned Emir Aminu Ado Bayero as Kano Emir and reinstated Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II about six years after the former bank chief was removed by former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
The controversial decision has thrown up legal fireworks in the state.
President Bola Tinubu has nominated Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, the immediate past sole administrator of Rivers State and a former Chief of Naval Staff, as a non-career ambassador.
Tinubu also nominated Ita Enang, a former senator; Chioma Ohakim, former First Lady of Imo State; and Abdulrahman Dambazau, former Minister of Interior and ex-Chief of Army Staff, as non-career ambassadors.
The United States Department of State on Wednesday announced that it is outlining new measures to address violence against Christians in Nigeria and other countries.
The policy, according to a statement released by the department, targets radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other actors responsible for killings and attacks on religious communities.
“The United States is taking decisive action in response to the mass killings and attacks on Christians carried out by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani militias, and other violent groups in Nigeria and beyond,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement.
According to the statement, a new policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows the State Department to restrict visas for individuals who have “directed, authorised, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom,” and, when appropriate, extend those “restrictions to their immediate family members.”
The briefing, led by House Appropriations Vice Chair and National Security Subcommittee Chairman Mario Díaz-Balart, included members of the House Appropriations and House Foreign Affairs Committees, as well as religious freedom experts.
Participants included Representatives Robert Aderholt, Riley Moore, Brian Mast, Chris Smith, US Commission on International Religious Freedom Chair Vicky Hartzler, Alliance Defending Freedom International’s Sean Nelson, and Dr Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations.
President Bola Tinubu recently approved Nigeria’s delegation to the new US–Nigeria Joint Working Group, formed to implement security agreements from high-level talks in Washington led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
The move follows growing concerns over terrorism, banditry, and targeted attacks on Christians in Nigeria, prompting increased US scrutiny and warnings about the protection of vulnerable faith communities.
On November 20, the US House Subcommittee on Africa opened a public hearing to review Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, placing the country under heightened scrutiny for alleged religious-freedom violations.
Lawmakers examined the potential consequences of the designation, which could pave the way for sanctions against Nigerian officials found complicit in religious persecution.
The Punch
United States of America lawmakers have sharply contradicted the Nigerian government’s position on the ongoing massacres in the country, describing the violence as “escalating,” “targeted,” and overwhelmingly directed at Christians during a rare joint congressional briefing on Tuesday.
The closed-door session – convened by House Appropriations, Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart, as part of a Trump-ordered investigation – examined recent killings and what Congress calls Abuja’s “deeply inadequate” response.
President Trump has asked lawmakers, led by Reps. Riley Moore and Tom Cole, to compile a report on persecution of Nigerian Christians and has even floated the possibility of U.S. military action against Islamist groups responsible for the attacks.
At the briefing, Vicky Hartzler, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, warned that “religious freedom [is] under siege” in Nigeria, citing mass abductions of schoolchildren and assaults in which “radical Muslims kill entire Christian villages [and] burn churches.” She said abuses were “rampant” and “violent,” claiming Christians are targeted “at a 2.2 to 1 rate” compared with Muslims.
While acknowledging Nigeria’s recent move to reassign 100,000 police officers from VIP protection, Hartzler said the country is entering a “coordinated and deeply troubling period of escalated violence.” She urged targeted sanctions, visa bans, asset freezes and tighter conditions on U.S. aid, insisting Abuja must retake villages seized from Christian communities so displaced widows and children can return home.
The strongest rebuke came from Dr. Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations, who dismissed Abuja’s narrative that the killings are not religiously motivated. He called the idea that extremists attack Muslims and Christians equally a “myth,” stressing the groups operate “for one reason and one reason only: religion.” Higher Muslim casualty figures, he argued, reflect geography, not equal targeting.
Obadare described Boko Haram as fundamentally anti-democratic and accused the Nigerian military of being “too corrupt and incompetent” to defeat jihadist networks without external pressure. He urged Washington to push Nigeria to disband armed religious militias, confront security-sector corruption and respond swiftly to early warnings.
Sean Nelson of ADF International called Nigeria “the deadliest country in the world for Christians,” claiming more Christians are killed there than in all other countries combined and at a rate “five times” higher than Muslims when adjusted for population. He said extremists also kill Muslims who reject violent ideologies, undermining Abuja’s argument that the crisis is driven mainly by crime or communal disputes.
He pressed for tighter oversight on U.S. aid, recommending that some assistance be routed through faith-based groups to avoid corruption. Without “transparency and outside pressure,” he said, “nothing changes.”
Díaz-Balart criticised the Biden administration’s reversal of Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” in 2021, saying the decision had “clearly deadly consequences.” Lawmakers from the Appropriations, Foreign Affairs and Financial Services committees signaled further oversight actions as they prepare the Trump-directed report.
Hartzler pointed to recent comments by Nigeria’s Speaker of the House acknowledging a “coordinated and deeply troubling period of escalated violence,” calling it a rare moment of candor. She also welcomed the redeployment of police officers as “a promising start after years of neglect.”
But she stressed that these gestures are far from sufficient, insisting the Nigerian government must demonstrate a real commitment to “quell injustice,” act swiftly on early warnings, and embrace transparency.
The Nigerian Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to source.
