Dr Lawan Ahmed Mohammed, first son of the late Emir of Gumel, HRH Alhaji (Dr) Ahmed Muhammad Sani II, has been appointed the 17th Emir of Gumel Emirate.
The appointment was approved by the Jigawa State Governor, Malam Umar A. Namadi, following the recommendation of the Gumel Emirate Council kingmakers and the Jigawa State Council of Chiefs.
The Secretary to the Jigawa State Government, Malam Bala Ibrahim, disclosed this while briefing journalists after the selection process.
He said the selection followed extensive consultations by the kingmakers among nine contenders for the traditional stool.
According to him, three of the nine aspirants later withdrew from the contest, leaving six candidates to participate in the selection process.
At the first stage of voting, three candidates emerged and proceeded to the next round. They were the Chiroman Gumel, Tafidan Gumel and Sarkin Dawaki.
Their names were subsequently forwarded to the Jigawa State Council of Chiefs, which submitted the three names to Governor Namadi for the final decision.
The governor subsequently approved the candidature of the Chiroman Gumel, Dr Lawan Ahmed Mohammed, as the successor to his late father.
Until his appointment, the new emir held the title of Chiroman Gumel and served as Director of Cyber Security at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Dr Lawan is an internationally recognised scholar with a PhD in Computer and Communication Systems Engineering from Universiti Putra Malaysia.
He also holds an MSc in Computing from De Montfort University, United Kingdom, an MSc in Operations Research from Universiti Putra Malaysia, and a BSc in Mathematics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
He previously served for more than 12 years as Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Hafr Al-Batin, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He is also a researcher and author of more than 40 publications covering computing, cybersecurity and digital identity, and has contributed to cybersecurity initiatives involving AfricaCERT, ITU, OIC-CERT, ECOWAS and ANCA.
Dr Lawan succeeded his father, who died on Thursday, September 3, 2026, after a 46-year reign.