I resigned on my own, ex-Magajin Gari Magajin Garin Sokoto Alhaji Hassan Ahmadu Danbaba walked out of a meeting with Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar on Monday last week and said he was relinquishing his traditional title because the Sultan refused to intervene in the case that Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] is pursuing against Danbaba, impeccable sources in Sokoto told our reporter yesterday. An online medium Dailynigerian had reported last week that Danbaba resigned as Magajin Garin Sokoto and traditional kingmaker because the Sultan asked him to sign a one-sided peace deal. Our reporter learnt yesterday that following the death last year of Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, both Danbaba and Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir, the Magatakarda Babba of Sokoto and National Vice Chairman, North West of the ruling All Progressives Congress [APC], unofficially indicated interest to succeed Shinkafi as Marafan Sokoto. The elder statesman who was very familiar with the crisis said, “In December 2016, Danbaba dropped a letter with policemen at the gate of Sokoto Government House and asked that it be delivered to Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. The policemen on duty told him that all letters to the governor have to be duly delivered at the registry with acknowledgement copy issued. Angered by their refusal to collect the letter, Danbaba went away and instead leaked it to some online media, claiming that he wrote to the governor. In fact the Governor never received the letter.” He also said, “In the letter, Danbaba expressed his opposition to reports in Sokoto that Abdulkadir was being considered for the title of Marafa. He then made disparaging but false claims against Inuwa Abdulkadir’s lineage. “The letter angered many people in the Caliphate, with senior counsellors urging the Sultan to take disciplinary measures against Danbaba for bringing the glorious Caliphate to public ridicule with his false claims.” Early this year, Daily Trust learnt, Abdulkadir sued Danbaba for defamation at a Shari’a court in Sokoto. He sought many reliefs including withdrawal of the allegations made against his family, unreserved apology, payment of compensation, exemplary punishment for Danbaba and also an injunction to restrain him from repeating the false allegations against his family. The APC chieftain, who is said to be a close political ally of Governor Tambuwal, also wrote a petition to the Sultan and asked him to call Danbaba to order. Sometime last year, Daily Trust also learnt, the Sultan appointed a six member committee headed by former Governor of old Sokoto State Malam Yahaya Abdulkarim, who is the Sarkin Rafin Sokoto, to broker peace between Danbaba and Inuwa Abdulkadir. Other members of the panel included Alhaji Tambari Tafida, Alhaji Bawan Allah and two senior members of the Sultanate Council. When the panel met separately with the two antagonists, Danbaba agreed to withdraw the allegations and apologised to Abdulkadir. They were brought before the Sultan who ratified the agreement. Danbaba apologised and Abdulkadir accepted the apology. They agreed to cease public rantings against each other and also agreed that due process should be followed on the appointment of a new Marafa and that they will accept whoever emerges. It was at that point that Danbaba came out holding Abdulkadir’s hand and addressed a large crowd of palace guards. He asked them to bear witness that the quarrel was over, and then returned to the meeting, Daily Trust learnt. Following that agreement, Sultan Sa’ad directed Abdulkadir to withdraw the court case he instituted. However Abdulkadir, a former Attorney General of Sokoto State and former Minister of Youths, reminded the Sultan that since the judge had adjourned because he was told that an out of court settlement was being hammered out, a written agreement should be made and delivered to the court which will enter it as the court’s ruling on the matter. Sultan Sa’ad agreed to that, ordered the committee to produce the agreement and deliver it to the court, after which he said a copy of the court ruling should be delivered to him. Sources said the agreement was produced after a three hour meeting. Abdulkadir and all six reconciliation committee members signed it but for two months Danbaba refused to sign. Just before Sallah, Daily Trust learnt that Abdulkadir’s lawyer wrote to Danbaba’s lawyer and said the court would soon sit again and if he did not sign the agreement, the court would have no option but to continue with the case of defamation. Our sources said, “Sultan Sa’ad therefore summoned another meeting of the reconciliation committee as well as the two contenders, on Monday last week. A few days before that meeting, Danbaba had surreptitiously asked the Sultan to intervene in his case with the EFCC, where he was alleged to have collected some monies in Taraba State. Senior palace councillors however opposed that, saying the Sultan could not intervene in an EFCC case and that it was Magajin Gari’s personal responsibility to go and clear his name. Danbaba then made Sultan’s intervention in the EFCC case a condition for signing the peace agreement brokered by the Yahaya Abdulkarim committee. “At the meeting in the palace last Monday, Danbaba produced another draft agreement, which Abdulkadir objected to. Sultan Sa’ad then asked Danbaba to sign the peace agreement earlier agreed to by all parties. He reluctantly signed it. Soon afterwards, he stood up, announced that he had relinquished his title of Magajin Garin Sokoto, walked out of the meeting and banged the door hard. He later sent back his official car and royal paraphernalia. However, he has not sent in a resignation letter despite a reminder by senior palace councillors.” Sources at the palace said Danbaba’s resignation letter will be accepted as soon as he turns it in. Another source said the palace has already identified another bonafide grandson of Sir Ahmadu Bello to take over Danbaba’s title. I resigned on my own – Danbaba When contacted last night, Danbaba said nobody forced him out of the traditional position of Magajin Garin Sokoto but that he resigned on his own. He said there was never a time he asked the Sultan to intervene in any case on his behalf because he had no case whatsoever with the EFCC as claimed. “If I ever begged him to intervene in any case, he should stop. I don’t want his intervention in whatever form,” he said. He added that part of the problem was a consultancy contract his firm, Bina Consults, got with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) last year, and that when the issue came up, EFCC invited all the consultants and other people involved in January this year. “How will they now say that I have a case with EFCC? This is something that happened since January, and it wasn’t really an issue,” he said. “It’s all false. Nobody sacked me from the position of Magajin Gari. I resigned on my own. I submitted the copy of Qur’an given to me; the official car and the staff of office. If they claim that they sacked me, where is the sack letter? Danbaba said it was the hatred that existed between the Sultan’s family and that of the late Sardauna, Ahmadu Bello, that is being extended to him. “Remember his father jailed my grandfather. So, there is that hatred between the two families right from time immemorial. That’s what they’re trying to extend to me,” he said. Danbaba, who did not deny the fact he has issues with Abdulkadir, said the peace meeting initiated was fake “because it was the Sultan that asked him (Abdulkadir) to take me to court. “How can someone that asked somebody to take me to court turn and say that he’s initiating peace between the two of us? I’m not interested in anything,” he said. Daily Trust ]]>
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