A former senator who represented Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has outlined a series of violent attacks allegedly targeted at opposition politicians and activists in Kaduna during the administration of ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
Mr Sani’s intervention came in response to claims by the former governor that his eight-year reign did not witness attacks on opposition figures.
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Appearing on Channels Television on Sunday, Mr El-Rufai had condemned the recent disruption of a meeting of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition in Kaduna, blaming the current All Progressives Congress (APC)-led state government for the incident.
He insisted that during his tenure as governor, opposition groups were never prevented from holding meetings or subjected to violence.
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“I was governor of that state for eight years. Never at any time did I stop any opposition party from having meetings or say that venues should not allow meetings to take place. This is an overreach,” Mr El-Rufai said.
But Mr Sani, in a detailed post on X, countered the former governor, listing incidents of “sponsored political thuggery and violence” during Mr El-Rufai’s administration.
Attacks documented by Shehu Sani
The former senator recalled that on 3 December 2016, gunmen stormed his constituency office, injuring staff and supporters and carting away their phones and valuables.
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He also cited an attack on 30 July 2017 at the Kaduna NUJ Secretariat, where armed thugs disrupted a press conference attended by himself, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, PDP governorship candidate Isa Ashiru, media owner Tijjani Ramalan and others.
Journalists covering the event were assaulted, their equipment destroyed, and valuables stolen, Mr Sani said.
Mr Sani further alleged that on 10 May 2018, Mr El-Rufai, while addressing a rally of APC supporters at the Ranchers Bees Stadium, “cursed” three senators and openly incited the crowd to attack them. The event, he said, was attended by then APC national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun.
On 29 April 2018, according to him, armed thugs invaded the NUT Endwell Hotel Conference Hall where Senator Hunkuyi and other opposition leaders, including Tijjani Ramalan and Lawal Adamu (now a senator), were holding a political meeting. A young supporter, Labaran Umar, from Badarawa ward, was killed in the attack, the former senator said.
Mr Sani also recalled the case of Idris Abubakar, popularly known as Dadiyata, a fierce critic of the El-Rufai administration who was abducted from his home on 2 August 2019. He remains missing six years after.
He added that on 18 May 2021, thugs allegedly linked to a special assistant to the governor attacked members of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) who were protesting the mass sack of civil servants and teachers.
The NLC, led by Ayuba Wabba, accused the governor’s aide of coordinating the violence and demanded his arrest. In the aftermath, the Kaduna government declared Mr Wabba wanted for “economic sabotage.”
“These are just some of the documented instances of political thuggery and violence in Kaduna during his time,” Mr Sani said.
Mr El-Rufai’s claims on TV
During the Channels TV interview, Mr El-Rufai dismissed suggestions that he tolerated or orchestrated such attacks as governor.
He argued that the failure of the police to stop the assault on the ADC coalition gathering last week reflects a breakdown of policing under the current administration.
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“The police were there, I don’t know what they are investigating,” he said, adding that he would petition the Inspector-General of Police and the Police Service Commission over the matter.
He accused the police of attempting to suggest that his supporters invited thugs to the event, describing the claim as evidence of institutional collapse.
“We no longer have thinking people like my former course mate, Solomon Arase, in the police. A gentleman, may his soul rest in peace. We used to have policemen. Now, we have shadows of the police,” he said.
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