Kehinde Fajobi
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has claimed he is hearing rumours of an impending arrest, detention, and torture at the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
In a post on his X handle on Tuesday, El-Rufai alleged that since July 2024—when the Kaduna State House of Assembly indicted him for fraud—he has received threats aimed at forcing him into self-imposed exile.
“I have been hearing these same rumours of arrest, detention, and torture in some dungeon in the NSA’s office (where Emefiele was allegedly tortured to resign as CBN governor) since July 2024, when the so-called report of the Kaduna Assembly began circulating,” he wrote.
The former governor claimed these threats have been conveyed through friends, family, and political associates, but he vowed to remain in Nigeria.
“They have sent similar messages of intimidation and threats through many of my friends, family, and political associates because they want me to go on self-imposed exile. I will not,” he declared.
El-Rufai also accused the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, of suffering from “serious amnesia” over his denial of past comments allegedly made against President Bola Tinubu.
This follows a controversy sparked by a viral video in which a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Naja’atu Muhammad, claimed Ribadu once called Tinubu corrupt during his time as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
“Nuhu must have serious amnesia. The record of proceedings in the Senate will confirm that Nuhu made those statements sometime in 2006. A Daily Trust report from February 2007 reconfirms the essence of the statements,” El-Rufai insisted.
Despite the alleged threats, he reaffirmed his decision to stay in Nigeria, stating, “I have now put all my previous academic and language-learning plans on hold and will spend more time in Nigeria than ever before. Silence is no longer golden. Inaction has never been an option.”
The former governor, who said he had been arrested and detained three times in the past for criticising previous governments, dismissed fears about his safety.
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“The arrest, detention, and torture of perceived political enemies are nothing new in human affairs. There is always a morning after the arrest, detention, or torture, and political life continues.
“As for death, it comes when Allah destines it, and it is ultimately the fate of every human,” he added.
He also announced plans to return to Nigeria for the launch of former President Ibrahim Babangida’s memoirs, scheduled for February 20.
“We depend on no one but Allah. We fear no mortal but Almighty Allah. We always hope for the best but plan for the worst,” he concluded.