Zainab, a member of the Dabo Royal family, had reached out to the Abia State Governor Alex Otti and Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, alleging threats to evict her mother and brother from a hospitality facility, prompting the government’s response to her distress call.
Zainab had previously alleged that she and her siblings were abandoned and denied their rightful inheritance, despite appeals to various prominent figures, including the late Maitama Sule, Shehu Idris, Emir of Zaria, and Tony Momoh, her mother’s uncle.
In a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, obtained by Daily Trust, it was revealed that the governor intervened on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, meeting with Sunel Kumar, General Manager of the apartment complex where the Ado Bayero family has resided since early this year, to address the threatened eviction of the family, which Kumar had vowed to carry out on the same day.
In response to Princess Zainab Bayero’s public appeal in the newspapers, the governor intervened to assist her mother and brother, who had reportedly been neglected by the royal family following the passing of Emir Ado Bayero.
According to allegations, Zainab, her brother, and mother had been facing hardship since the late Emir’s demise. The siblings expressed their gratitude to the governor for his timely intervention, which brought relief to their difficult situation.
“You came at the right time, we were about to be forcefully evicted from the facility for our inability to pay the rent, they said today is final, we must move out by 3:00 pm and you came just 15 minutes to the time. They have already mobilised youths to remove us out of the apartment, Alhamdulillah for your arrival,” Zainab was quoted as saying.
According to Bature, the governor’s humanitarian intervention was motivated by concerns that the publicised neglect of the Ado Bayero family members reflected poorly on the royal family and the state of Kano, prompting a desire to address the situation and uphold the dignity of the esteemed family and the community.
“They are not only members of the Royal Family, they are our Muslim sisters and brother, currently in need,” Bature said.