A leadership crisis has erupted within the rank and file members of the Yoruba community in Kano, as two factions traded words over the alleged dethronement of the Oba of the Yoruba in Kano, Alhaji Murtala Alimi Otisese and seven others.
While one group claimed that all the eight traditional rulers had been removed from office by the Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II, another faction dismissed the claim as false and misleading.
Addressing a press conference in Kano, the Yoruba Community Kano (YCK), led by Taofeek Olalekan Olaosebika and joined by leaders of various Yoruba groups representing Osun, Oyo, Kwara, Ondo, Kogi and Ogun states, as well as the YCK Youth and Women Wings, alleged that eight Sarki representing seven metropolitan local government areas and the Oba Yoruba of Kano had been relieved of their positions by the Emirate Council.
The group called on security agencies to ensure enforcement of the purported dethronement in order to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
According to the faction, the decision to remove the affected title holders followed what it described as a joint resolution involving prominent Yoruba monarchs, including the Ooni of Ife, Alaafin of Oyo, Olubadan of Ibadan, Oluwo of Iwo, Ataoja of Osogbo, alongside the Emir of Kano.
They maintained that a letter dated February 23, 2026, conveyed the dethronement and claimed that relative peace had since returned to the Yoruba community in Kano, following earlier divisions.
The group formally dissociated itself from the affected title holders, listing them as Oba Yoruba Kano, Oba Yoruba Dala, Oba Yoruba Tarauni, Oba Yoruba Kano Municipal, Oba Yoruba Nasarawa, Oba Yoruba Ungogo, Oba Yoruba Gwale and Oba Yoruba Kumbotso.
“In view of the peace presently being enjoyed among our brothers and sisters, and in the collective interest of the Yoruba-speaking states in Kano, we hereby dissociate ourselves from the aforementioned individuals and their claims to Yoruba traditional leadership in Kano,” the group stated.
They further urged the Kano State Government and the Kano Emirate Council not to grant official recognition to the affected individuals and appealed to security agencies to act in accordance with the law if any of them continued to present themselves in ways capable of disrupting public order.
The group also called on Yoruba sons and daughters in Kano to remain calm and law-abiding.
Efforts, they added, were ongoing to establish a reconciliatory framework to restore lasting peace within the community.
In a twist, documents obtained by journalists indicate a different narrative. A letter dated February 11, 2026, from the Alaafin of Oyo to the Emir of Kano requested the suspension and rescheduling of chieftaincy title installations by the Yoruba community in Kano.
Further correspondence dated February 23, 2026, signed by the District Head of Kumbotso and addressed to Sarkin Yarbawa Kumbotso, Alhaji Ahmad Olusegun Adeboye Oni, clarified that only seven representatives of the Oba Yoruba of Kano in the affected local government areas were removed.
The letter referenced an earlier directive dated February 16, 2026, signed by the Kano Emirate’s Secretary, Alhaji Abba Yusuf, instructing district heads to remove the representatives of the Oba Yoruba of Kano in their respective domains to ensure peace.
Notably, official documents made available at the YCK secretariat indicated that while seven local government representatives were dethroned, the Emirate Council continued to recognize Alhaji Murtala Alimi Otisese as the authentic and only acknowledged Oba Yoruba of Kano.
At the Yoruba Community palace on Sanusi Road in Sabon Gari, another faction,who claimed to be the mouthpiece of YCK ,insisted that individuals claiming to represent the YCK were not officially recognised by the community’s established leadership, further deepening the rift.
However, the group has vowed to dragged the factional group to court over the allegation that the Oba Yoruba of Kano, Alhaji Murtala Alimi Otisese was said to be among those Obas that were removed.
