From: Femi Oyelola in Kaduna
The Coalition of Kaduna Stakeholders Forum has issued a blunt call for former Governor Nasir El‑Rufai to stop “distracting” the people of Kaduna and prepare to answer for alleged abuses of power, massive financial mismanagement, and widespread human‑rights violations during his tenure.
In a press statement released today, the group’s convener, Alhaji Aliyu Muhammad, declared that the former governor “cannot hide behind lies, distractions, or cheap political theatre” and must confront the people of Kaduna alone.
Muhammad stressed that the controversy is “a Kaduna State issue. It is not about the President. It is not about the National Security Adviser. It is not about Nuhu Ribadu.”
He described these references as “distractions created by a man desperate to escape the consequences of his own actions.”
The forum catalogued a litany of grievances from El‑Rufai’s administration: thousands of civil servants and teachers dismissed, leaving families destitute; up to eighteen markets demolished, crushing livelihoods and shattering businesses; artificial religious tensions deliberately stoked; land seized with impunity; homes demolished and families displaced without warning or compensation; and controversial mobile courts during COVID‑19 that “inflicted injustice on ordinary citizens.” Muhammad labeled these actions “authoritarianism disguised as reform” and “brutality disguised as progress.”
Beyond human‑rights concerns, the statement highlighted serious corruption allegations. A Kaduna State House of Assembly probe allegedly uncovered the misappropriation of *₦423 billion* in loans and state funds. The light‑rail project reportedly saw *₦1.37 billion* diverted into private accounts, with no project delivered. Senior aides were accused of money laundering, including *₦64.8 million* siphoned from state accounts, and additional sums of over *₦155 million* allegedly misappropriated through dubious cash payments and contracts.
“These are not small figures. These are billions of naira of public funds that belonged to the people of Kaduna,” Muhammad said.
The forum also pointed to “illegal government calls interceptions, potential cybercrime, and land racketeering,” noting that under the Cybercrimes Act 2015, unlawful interception is a criminal offense and, depending on intent, could constitute treason.
It called on the EFCC, ICPC, and other relevant authorities to “investigate fully” and, if culpable, “prosecute decisively,” stressing that “no one is above the law. Not El‑Rufai. Not his friends. Not his political patrons.”
Muhammad accused El‑Rufai of seeking “cheap sympathy” by invoking allies he once insulted, while “bitterly nursing personal disappointment over failing to secure a ministerial appointment.”
He mocked the former governor’s claim that Mallam Nuhu Ribadu dislikes him, asking, “If we are to believe his claim that Mallam Nuhu Ribadu dislikes him, how can someone who named his son after you, in admiration, not like you, yet now he claims otherwise?” He called the former governor’s narrative “hypocrisy exposed.”
The convener urged Kaduna residents to “ignore his distractions, his lies, and his attempts to incite violence,” describing El‑Rufai as “a drowning man attempting to drag others under him.”
He called on citizens to “stand firm, demand justice,” and assured that the Coalition of Kaduna Stakeholders Forum will not rest. Kaduna will not be intimidated. Kaduna will not forget.”
“Accountability must be delivered. Justice must be seen. Prividrnt must be set. The law will take its course, and El‑Rufai will be held accountable for his actions. No one escapes accountability. No one is bigger than Kaduna,” Muhammad concluded.
