Kaduna government accuses El-Rufai of plotting chaos, ex-governor fires back, alleging bandit payoffs and political repression.
In a statement, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Dr. Suleiman Shuaibu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), alleged that El-Rufai was “plotting to destabilize the state and drag it back to its dark and violent past.”
However, in a long riposte posted on his social media handles, El-Rufai doubled down on his earlier accusation of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Kaduna government, alleging an ongoing “greasing of the palms of non-state actors in Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Niger, Kebbi, and other states.”
Besides, he took a swipe at the Kaduna state Governor, Uba Sani, insinuating that the purported peace which currently reigns in Kaduna was non-existent and accusing him of either muzzling or inducing the local press.
However, the state government warned that its leadership will not fold its arms and allow a ‘discredited former leader,’ who left the state in ruins, to ignite chaos and plunge the state into another era of ethno-religious tension, insecurity, and economic stagnation.
The statement said El-Rufai has refused to accept the progress made under Uba Sani’s administration in the past two years.
“Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has made it glaringly obvious that he can not stomach the progress Kaduna is making under the administration of Governor Uba Sani. In just two years, Kaduna has transitioned from a state on the brink of collapse, to a growing beacon of hope, unity, and development,” the statement said.
The state government further accused the former governor of attempting to reverse the progress made so far by “exploiting old wounds and deliberately peddling dangerous lies designed to incite violence and discord.”
The statement alleged that El-Rufai intensified his political activities after suffering electoral losses in the August 16, 2025 bye-elections won by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
“His rejected candidates and the incoherent political coalition he assembled were resoundingly defeated in free, fair, and transparent elections. El-Rufai responded to these losses by organizing an illegal and chaotic meeting on August 30, which descended into violence,” the commissioner said.
The statement also condemned the former governor for his statements made on Sunday in an interview on Channels Television, saying El-Rufai’s claim that the federal and state governments were “bribing bandits”, was a malicious lie designed to undermine security efforts, incite public anger, and legitimize criminality.”
It said that Kaduna state will do whatever it takes, within the provisions of the law, to preserve the peace and stability that it had worked so hard to rebuild.
“Let there be no doubt, the Kaduna state government has the capacity, the resolve, and the legal backing to deal decisively with any individual or group that seeks to destabilize the state. Mallam Nasir El-Rufai’s time is over.
Kaduna belongs to the future, not to the ruins of the past,” the statement emphasised.
However, in a long response, El-Rufai described as unfortunate remarks from the ONSA and what he described as ‘the fake, but predictable hot air from Kaduna,’ following his live television interview.
“As usual, the combined voices of the Government of Kaduna State (KDSG) and ONSA, instead of responding to the core issues I raised, seek to deflect responsibility by alleging that exposing them amounts to politicising security,” he began.
El-Rufai stated that the face of the politicisation of national security for politically intended purposes resides, for the first time in Nigeria’s recent history, is the ONSA under its present leadership.
“ If the ONSA thinks Nigerians are not following its unclear and incompetent management of terrorisim and banditry in Northern Nigeria and beyond, in collaboration with a certain senator, also from the North, then it is high time it carried out an in-depth evaluation and review of its actions.
“We are not the first to reveal the government’s ongoing greasing of the palms of non-state actors in Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Niger, Kebbi, and other states. No matter how incompetent in security matters he may be, the National Security Adviser cannot be oblivious of videos and audios of traditional rulers, community leaders and religious leaders condemning the payments made by the state to bandits.
He also criticised the Kaduna state government for allegedly disrupting a meeting by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), insisting that it cannot stop the exercise of constitutional rights to associate with others, have meetings, express opinions and alternatives to the fictitious narrative of officialdom.
“They are advised to concentrate their efforts on solving security issues, rather than seeing in the misery of affected citizens opportunities to claim false glories and divert and squander funds.
“Insecurity is the menace they ought to eliminate, not opposition voices and platforms.
The repeated haranguing by the KDSG of some of its own officials and some security agencies for not disrupting visits and meetings in Kaduna by certain prominent persons is well-known,” he alleged.
