August 16th, 2012
The office of the Emir of Kano on Thursday said that this year’s celebration of the end of Ramadan has been cancelled because the traditional ruler is too ill to take part.
The Durbar celebration is a centuries-old procession of traditional leaders who ride lavishly decorated horses to greet the emir.
It said in a statement that 82-year-old Emir Ado Bayero was recently hospitalized in the U.K. It gave no other details.
Some residents have however blamed growing sectarian violence for the cancellation. Radical Islamist sect, Boko Haram has killed hundreds of people in northern Nigeria this year, with a January attack on Kano claiming 185 lives.
Police announced on Wednesday that they defused 900 explosives in Kano over the past six months.
The Durbar celebration is a centuries-old procession of traditional leaders who ride lavishly decorated horses to greet the emir. This is its first cancellation in recent memory.