No fewer than 40 special detectives from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) monitoring team are allegedly on the trail of Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa, the spokesman to Kano State Governor Abba Kabir.
They were reportedly deployed from Abuja to arrest Dawakin-Tofa on the instruction of the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
The immediate past governor of Kano State was said to have petitioned the IGP and fingered the spokesman and fellow indigene in the controversy surrounding his suspension from his Ganduje ward in Dawakin-Tofa Local Council of the state.
Family sources told journalists yesterday that the team of plain-clothe detectives was seen mounting surveillance around Dawakin-Tofa’s residence on Monday to effect his arrest.
One of them, who craved anonymity, claimed the secret police ransacked the residence more than five times, scaring family members, relatives and neighbours in the process.
It was learnt that the team has been on the look-out for Dawakin-Tofa in the last two weeks despite an order of the court restraining the IGP, DSS, Kano CP and other security agencies from arresting, and or harassing the governor’s spokesperson.
Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu of the Kano State High Court, last Thursday, granted an ex parte application, restraining further manhunt of Dawakin-Tofa pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit on his fundamental rights slated for January 22, 2025.
The animosity between Dawakin-Tofa and Ganduje dates back nine years ago, specifically in 2015, when Ganduje, as governor-elect, reportedly ordered Dawakin-Tofa’s arrest over his supposed opposition during the gubernatorial election.
In the latest episode, Ganduje was said to have petitioned the IGP, accusing Dawakin-Tofa of being the brain behind his suspension by the ward executives a couple of months back.
Consequently, a team of 40 police officers from the IGP team was reportedly mobilised to Kano to apprehend the governor’s spokesperson.
Efforts to reach the Force Public Relations Officer (FPPRO) for comments were unsuccessful, as calls and text messages sent to his phone were neither answered nor returned as of press time.