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Tag: el-rufai

  • Alleged defamation: El-Rufai sues Jonathan’s ex-aide, Omokri, Odinkalu, others for N1.5bn

    Alleged defamation: El-Rufai sues Jonathan’s ex-aide, Omokri, Odinkalu, others for N1.5bn

    Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai has sued former media aide to former President, Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri; ex-Chairman of the Council of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Chidi Odinkalu and others, alleging defamation.

    In separate suits filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Teeritory (FCT) by his lawyer, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), el-Rufai also named Thisday newspaper, Daniel Elombah, Elombah Communications, Barrister Joseph Onu and Auta Nyada as defendants.

    In one of the suits, el-Rufai claimed that statements contained in certain publication titled: “El Rufai’s email saying southern women youth corpers are seen as whores,” by Omokri, which was published by Thisday newspaper on Sunday 14th of June 2020 is injurious to his reputation, adding that it is “malicious, unwarranted and defamatory”.

    The governor is seeking N500 million in compensation and an apology to be published in the newspaper.

    In another suit directed at Odinkalu, Daniel Elombah and Elombah Communications, el- Rufai is claiming that a publication titled: “Litany of 25 critics who have suffered at El Rufai’s hands compiled by Chidi Odinkalu,” which was published in Elombah.com on Wednesday September 2, 2020 is “malicious, unlawful and without any justification.”

    He is equally seeking N500million in damages and apology for the said “defamatory and greatly injurious to his reputation.”

    The governor stated that a letter written by Jospen Onu and dated August 19, 2020, titled: “Request to withdraw the offer of platform at the 2020 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Malam Nasir El Rufai” addressed to Prof. Koyinsola Ajayi, SAN, in his capacity as the Chairman, Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP) Nigerian Bar Association and copied to Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, Chairman, Board of Trustee, Nigerian Bar Association and Mr. Olumide Akpata, the then President-Elect of the NBA and published in the media, is “defamatory and greatly injurious to the reputation of the claimant.”

    He is also seeking an apology and N500 million in damages.

    No date has been fixed for the hearing.

  • #EndSARS: I nearly shed tears when I saw pictures of destruction in Lagos – El-Rufai

    #EndSARS: I nearly shed tears when I saw pictures of destruction in Lagos – El-Rufai

    Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai on Thursday said pictures from the wanton destruction embarked by hoodlums in Lagos under disguise of #EndSARS protests nearly made him shed tears.

    El-Rufai, who paid a visit on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in Marina, Lagos, said those who thrive in violence, infiltrated the protest to achieve their agenda of wreaking a large-scale destruction on public assets and infrastructure in Lagos.

    He stated that Sanwo-Olu did all that was needed to be done to prevent the youth protest against police brutality from degenerating to violence.

    El-Rufai shared the thoughts when he visited the State House in Marina to commiserate with his Lagos State counterpart over the coordinated arson sparked by the #EndSARS protest.

    The governor,, who described the gravity of the destruction as “pure evil”, said he nearly shed tears as he flicked through the images of the torched Lagos assets. The Kaduna Governor said Lagos, which accounts for one-third of national GDP, did not deserve to suffer such pain.

    He said the young people who carried out the violence intentionally engaged in an act of “self-destruction”, stressing that the repercussion of the action would be felt by them.

    He said: “I have spent time to see some of the pictures of the destruction done on public properties in Lagos and I nearly shed tears. Anyone who cares about development and progress will cry after seeing what has been done to public facilities and people’s investment that provided jobs to youths.

    “While expressing anger on police brutality may be right, but destroying public properties, which will have to be rebuilt using money that is needed to invest in other public infrastructure, under the guise of protest is nothing but self-destruction. The Government of Lagos and the Federal Government will have to re-invest scarce resources that could have been used for other things to rebuild the vandalised facilities.

    “As a colleague, I can confirm that Governor of Lagos did all that could be done to ensure that this destruction does not take place. It is very sad to see what had happened in Lagos. I want to assure you that we will support you getting Lagos back on track. We will do whatever support Lagos needs from us to get back better.”

    El-Rufai, who said the youth protest against the police was not out of order, said it was wrong for the protesters to call for disbandment of the entire police force because of the action of a few bad eggs.

    He sympathised with the police and those who lost loved ones in Lagos in the wake of the violence, saying the Federal Government must not allow wanton destruction of public assets to happen again.

    Sanwo-Olu said although Lagos had started to look forward and engage in new partnerships towards restoring the lost assets, he vowed to make the State uncomfortable for those with the intention to destroy the State’s economy and heritage.

    Despite the ugly incident that trailed the protest, Sanwo-Olu said the State Government remained committed to getting justice for those who were brutalised by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) team of the police.

    The Lagos Governor thanked el-Rufai for the extension of support towards rebuilding the State, welcoming all forms of assistance that could be rendered to keep the flourishing for businesses.

    Sanwo-Olu, who intimated his Kaduna counterpart of steps already taken to rebuild Lagos, said the State Government was doing it could to support those whose businesses were destroyed and create ambience for commercial activities to get back stronger.

  • [#EndSARS] BREAKING: El-Rufai imposes curfew in Chukun, Kaduna South LGA

    [#EndSARS] BREAKING: El-Rufai imposes curfew in Chukun, Kaduna South LGA

    The Kaduna State Government has declared a 24-hour curfew in some Communities in Kaduna South and Chukun Local Government area of the state.

    State commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

    According to Aruwa, the curfew is “effective immediately”

    Areas to be covered by the curfew includes; “…Barnawa, Kakuri, and Television Village in Kaduna South LGA and Maraban Rido, Sabon Tasha, Narayi and Ugwan Boro in Chukun LGA”

    Aruwan said “security agencies have been directed to arrest and prosecute any found violating the curfew and those responsible for breakdown of law and order…..”

    “Kaduna State Government condemn the concerted incitement being done on social media. The government appeals to all our communities to reject incitement and resist the attempt to create chaos and Anarchy” he added.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that thousands of irate youths earlier today (Saturday) throng a warehouse suspected to be storing Covid-19 palliatives where they carted away rough food items.

  • Kaduna govt to reopen schools on Oct.19

    Kaduna govt to reopen schools on Oct.19

    Kaduna State Government says all public and private schools in the state will reopen on Oct. 19.

    The state Commissioner for Education, Dr Shehu Makarfi, made the disclosure to journalists on Thursday in Kaduna.

    Makarfi said students of boarding schools would, however, resume on Oct. 18, while all other schools will resume on Oct. 19.

    He said schools would operate morning and afternoon shifts, to provide adequate space for the students to observe social distancing.

    “The resumption is for both public and private schools as well as all high institutions in the state.

    “The resumption is going to be in batches, all JSS2 students, primary six students will also resume to sit for their various exams.

    “The SS2 students will come back to sit for the exams that would enable them move to SS3 while the JS2 students will equally sit for exams that will move them to JS3.

    “Primary six students will come back to write the exit exams that will move them to JS1.

    “Adequate arrangements have been put in place in all the institutions,’’ commissioner said.

    According to him, high institutions have been directed to also return students in stages and do a blended learning for students in the schools.

    The commissioner said the state government had provided infrared thermometer in boarding schools as well as wash hand points in all the schools.

    “The boarding schools are going to have infrared thermometer, with a wall mounted thermometer which will provide automatic temperature reading for students.”

    He added that the state government would monitor the schools to ensure strict compliance to COVID-19 protocols.

    “Once we found out that the arrangement we made was adequate, we would also invite the next batch of students to come and join their colleagues.

    “This will be done gradually until we are able to absorb all the students back to classes,” he said.

    The commissioner called on parents to provide additional face marks and hand sanitizers to their children.

    He stressed the need for all principals to ensure compliance of social distance in schools, saying no class room should have more than 20 students at a time.

    “That is why we are encouraging blended learning where online learning and class room contact is combined.

    “We also encourage schools to go on shift learning. Some can come in the morning while others come in the afternoon so as to have adequate space and less time for contact by students.

    “The state government also appeal to parents to safeguard the various means of transportation for their children from home to schools.

    “We encourage parenst to use and arrange communal buses that will pick their children from their community to schools, this will assist in reducing community transmission of diseases,’’ he said.

    The commissioner said the state government would have a meeting with the leadership of islamiyya schools to ensure they follow the protocols set out by the government.

  • #EdoDecides2020: Three weeks ago, we were sure of victory for Ize-Iyamu- El-Rufai

    #EdoDecides2020: Three weeks ago, we were sure of victory for Ize-Iyamu- El-Rufai

    Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has reacted to the loss of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded Edo State governorship election.

    El-Rufai said he was optimistic up to three weeks ago that his party would win the election.

    He said opinion polls conducted had shown that the APC candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, would win the election, adding that he didn’t know what went wrong in the last three weeks of the campaign.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Godwin Obaseki, winner of the keenly contested election.

    INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof. Akpofure Rim-Rukeh, said Obaseki polled 307,955 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ize-Iyamu, who got 223,619 votes.

    Commenting on the development, the Kaduna State governor, who spoke on Monday morning while featuring on Channels Television, said the election was “reasonably decent”.

    El-Rufai said, “We (APC) would have loved to win and quite frankly, I was optimistic up to three weeks ago; the polls indicated that we were going to win. I don’t know what happened in the last three weeks of the campaign.

    “As you know, a large number of voters make up their minds in the last two weeks of the election. Many voters decide no matter what happens, this is how I am voting but most people want to wait and make up their minds in the last two weeks.

    “Three weeks ago, the polls clearly showed that APC was going to win but the result came out differently from what we expected.

    “Obaseki has won, that’s it. You can’t go into an election without the possibility of losing.”

    He added, “The election was reasonably decent. We were all worried about violence but there was very little violence or none at all.”

  • Emir of Zazzau: El-Rufai declares public holiday, three days of mourning

    Emir of Zazzau: El-Rufai declares public holiday, three days of mourning

    Governor Nasir El-Rufai has declared three days mourning for the late Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris.

    The Special Adviser to the El-Rufai on Media and Communication, Mr Muyiwa Adekeye, announced this today.

    Adekeye said that public offices would open as normal on Sept. 21 and Sept. 22 but “there will be a public holiday on Sept. 23 to honour his memory’’.

    According to him, flags will fly at half-staff during the mourning period.

    The Emir died at the 44 Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna on Sunday at the age of 84.

    The remains of the monarch have been laid to rest at his palace in Zaria besides some past emirs of the emirate.

    The funeral prayers was led by the Chief Imam of Zazzau Emirate, Dalhatu Kasimu, in the palace at about 5:35pm.

    It was attended by thousands of people.

    Among those in attendance were El-Rufai, a son of Zaria, Secretary to the State Government, Balarabe Lawal-Abbas, Speaker of the State Assembly, Yusuf Zailani and other top government functionaries.

    The Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari led the Federal Government delegation, which consisted Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed, Environment Minister Mahmud Mohammed and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

    Also at the palace was the Emir of Kano, Aminu Bayero, and heads of military and paramilitary formations in Kaduna state.

    The late monarch was the 18th Emir of Zazzau. He was the Chairman, Kaduna State Council of Chiefs.

    Shehu Idris was coronated the Emir of Zazzau on Feb. 15 1975, and ruled Zazzau emirate for 45 years, before his death.

  • Rapists risk castration in Kaduna

    Rapists risk castration in Kaduna

    With the amended Penal Code 2020 signed into law on Wednesday by Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufa’I, rapists risk surgical castration upon conviction.

     

    Besides, convicts’ names are to be listed on the Sex Offenders Register that will be published by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

     

    The amended bill was passed into law last Thursday by the Kaduna State House of Assembly.

     

    The development was declared on El-Rufai’s official Twitter handle @GovKaduna Wednesday night.

     

    According to the Twitter post, “Malam Nasir @elrufai has signed the Kaduna State Penal Code (Amendment) Law 2020 which provides stiff penalties upon conviction for the rape of a child, including surgical castration for male convicts and bilateral salpingectomy for female convicts”

     

    Similarly, a statement posted on the governor’s Facebook wall said “the amendment updates the penalties for the offence of the rape of a child, which include the punishments of surgical castration and bilateral salpingectomy for male and female convicts of child rape, and death.

     

    According to the statement signed by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, said, the convicts will in addition, be listed in the Sex Offenders Register to be published by the Attorney-General of the state.

     

    He said: “Following Malam El-Rufai’s assent to the amended law on 11th September 2020, the new law has come into effect in Kaduna State. It introduces stricter punishments than the previous law which carried a maximum penalty of 21 years imprisonment for the rape of an adult and life imprisonment for the rape of a child.

     

    “Under the amended law, the punishment for the rape of a person older than 14 years will include surgical castration or removal of fallopian tubes, but the death penalty shall not apply. In cases where the rape convict is also a child, the court shall order an appropriate punishment under the Children and Young Persons Law Cap 26, Laws of Kaduna State 1991.

     

    “While commending the members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly for passing the amendments, the Governor stated that these drastic penalties are required to help further protect children from a serious crime.

     

    “The Kaduna State Penal Code (Amendment) Law 2020 amends the Penal Code Law (No.5) of Kaduna State, 2017 by substituting section 258 as follows:

     

    Whoever commits rape of a child below the age of fourteen (14) years shall on conviction, be punished with Surgical Castration and death;

    Whoever has sexual intercourse with a male child below the age of fourteen years shall be punished with surgical castration and death;

    Where a female adult is convicted for the offence of rape of a child, the Court shall punish the accused with Bilateral Salpingectomy and death;

    Where the victim is above fourteen years, the Court shall on conviction sentence the accused with a punishment of surgical castration and life imprisonment;

    Where the convict is a child, the Court shall order as appropriate under the Children and Young Person Law Cap 26 Laws of Kaduna State 1991;

    Where the victim is a child, the Court shall in addition to the conviction, order that the convict be listed in the Sex Offenders Register to be published by the Attorney General;

    Where the Court is trying the offence of rape involving a child below the age of fourteen years, corroboration of a medical report shall be necessary.”

     

     

  • Petition seeking to ban El-Rufai from EU, UK garners 7,000 signatures in 24 hours

    Petition seeking to ban El-Rufai from EU, UK garners 7,000 signatures in 24 hours

    A petition seeking to ban Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai from entering the United Kingdom and European Union (EU) nations has gathered over 7,000 signatures in 24 hours of setting up.

    This is coming after reports that the governor was among those on the list of Nigerian politicians banned by the United States from entering its territory.

    The petition, which was initiated by a former Presidential aide, Reno Omokri, on Tuesday, was addressed to the UK Parliament, the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson; Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.

    Checks on Change.Org showed that the petition had hit 7,000 as of 11.15 am on Wednesday.

    Omokri, who initiated the petition, accused El-Rufai of being a threat to the peace and security of Nigeria for many reasons.

    He noted that on December 3, 2016, the governor admitted that he paid herdsmen who had been accused of killing several persons.

    “Since that admission, there has been an intense escalation of the killings of mostly Christians in Kaduna, and on August 25, 2020, suspected herdsmen abducted seven schoolchildren and their teacher from Prince Academy, in Kaduna. They have not been seen or heard of since then,” Omokri said.

    Omokri, who was a social media aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, said el-Rufai on January 27, 2013, insulted Jesus Christ on Twitter

    The petition further read, “On February 6, 2019, he threatened foreign observers, including observers from the EU and UK with death, warning that they would return in body bags should they intervene in Nigeria.

    “On July 15, 2012, Nasir El-Rufai said, and I quote ‘We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes.’ This threat has been carried out in Southern Kaduna where there is an ongoing genocide of Christians under el-Rufai’s watch.”

    Omokri said on August 23, 2019, the governor charged the Anglican Bishop of Zaria province of Kaduna, Abiodun Ogunyemi, for defamation.

    “On April 24, 2019, another of his sons, Bashir el-Rufai, described the pogrom against Igbos as sweet.

    “It is for this reason that Nigerian citizens call on the government of the United Kingdom and the European Union Presidency to follow the lead of the United States and place a visa ban on Nasir El-Rufai, who is scheming to become Nigeria’s President, to prevent a Rwandan style genocide in Nigeria,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Government is yet to respond to the latest development.

  • See how much El-Rufai’s Kaduna spent treating each COVID-19 patient

    See how much El-Rufai’s Kaduna spent treating each COVID-19 patient

    Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has disclosed that it costs the state over N400,000 to treat each COVID-19 patient.

    El-Rufai said COVID-19 management is an expensive process and a big drain on the treasury of the government, which it must continue to bear, to prevent wider spread of the virus.

    The governor stated this in Kaduna during an executive committee meeting with northern traditional rulers chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III.

    The governor said the amount is as a result of the increasing cost of drugs, feeding of the patients and personal protective equipment (PPE) for doctors.

    He, however, said the government cannot tell patients to bear the cost of the treatment because it would be too much for many to bear and it would lead to further spread of the disease.

  • The El Rufai and NBA Palaver, By Hope O’Rukevbe Eghagha

    The diminutive, intelligent, even brilliant, and vibrant Mallam El Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State seems to love and thrive on controversy. From his days as one of the Obasanjo boys and Minister of FCT, policy implementation seemed to end where his loud presence ended. He drove the Abuja Masterplan with the zest of a zealot and made enemies. And created friends through dispensing patronage. Sometimes, the controversies were avoidable. No boss wants an appointee who is always enmeshed in controversies that attract negative attention to the government. Time will tell whether his bosses enjoyed the times when Mallam El Rufai attracted such attention to the government. Now, in Kaduna, El Rufai is government and government is El Rufai. So, any attention he attracts to himself affects our perception of Kaduna State government. And we have not been impressed with the slaughtering going on there. If it is propaganda, the message that he is complicit in the savagery going on in southern Kaduna is deeply abroad.

    On the other hand, the NBA is a body of lawyers representing the interests of all lawyers in the country, irrespective of religion, ethnic origins, or orientation. It thrives or should thrive on the rule of law. As the foremost association of lawyers in the country, it must not only protect the rule of law, it must be seen to preserve the rule of law. To be sure, the NBA had made serious mistakes in the past by inviting serving dictators to address their annual conference. Going forward, we do hope that the principle that was applied to El Rufai will be applied across the board in future. In 2018, the NBA gave President Muhammadu Buhari its platform to address the body of lawyers only to receive a hot slap in the face when their guest declared that “rule of law must bow before national security”, a fundamental opposition to the motto of NBA.

    El Rufai was in the news recently again after the NBA disinvited him to its annual conference. What caught my attention was the letter of objection which a group of lawyers wrote arguing why Mallam El Rufai should not be invited. They argued that persons, including lawyers who criticized Mallam El Rufai were dealt with by state agents, that he threatened election observers who came to Nigeria in 2019 that ‘they would go back to their countries in ‘body bags’, Mallam El Rufai’s son, himself a Special Adviser to a Senator threatened a citizen who had criticized his father that the critic’s mother would be gang-raped, (there is no record that he chided his son for dancing naked in the public domain) that El Rufai now uses ‘security agents to arrest and intimidate journalists and activists who dare to question their actions or attempt to hold them accountable’. The group alleged that a university lecturer, Abubakar Idris, ‘better known as Dadiyata, was abducted from the gate of his house in Barnawa Kaduna, on 1st August and has not been seen since then. Bashir, one of the sons of El Rufai was said to have tweeted over Dadiyata ‘dangerous lines in the public space have consequences.

    These and many more which time and space will prevent me from mentioning are weighty allegations. Is it true, for instance, that Luka Biniyat, a journalist with Vanguard Newspaper, Segun Onibiyo of FRCN have suffered punishment in their places of work because they criticized Mallam El Rufai? Why, one may ask, have their employers danced to the tune played by El Rufai? What has the NUJ done to help these journalists? Should Mallam El Rufai not address these issues and give the other side of the narrative?

    Now, to invite a guest speaker is the prerogative of the organisers of the event. To change their minds is also their prerogative. In the NBA-El Rufai matter, ego is involved. Right now, another twist has entered. Two lawyers writing on behalf of some others want to form the New Nigeria Bar Association (NNBA). They objected to the cancelled invite and have decided to form a parallel association for northern lawyers, with the innuendo that will be Muslim dominated. In other words, their objection to the disinvite carried a religious toga. You know, religion is a whipping boy in Nigeria. The lawyers added that they will operate the new association in an ‘indissoluble Nigeria! This suggests that they know that are treading on a very dangerous ground.

    If they did not know, let us tell those lawyers and those who reason like them that the unity of the country now is very fragile. There is a narrative out there that one part of the country has seized power and is progressing to appropriating all the natural resources of the land to itself. There are strident underground calls for a pulling apart as IPOB has repeatedly called for. The Yoruba Congress of Elders led by Professor Akitoye has also made references to the creation of a Yoruba nation. By splitting the NBA along regional lines, those two lawyers will be serving a dish that they cannot feed from.

    Mallam El Rufai was not disinvited because of his religion or because of his northern background. It was strictly on his human rights records according to the NBA. There is deep disenchantment in the country right now about the use of power by the federal authorities. The impudence of RUGA and the temerity of the Water Resource Bill that attempts to invest power to control water resources all over the country in an incompetent and clannish federal government is inimical to the collective survival of the Nigerian people.

    The bottom line in the saga is that public officials should realize that people know when they have taken enough for the owner to notice if I may borrow a proverb from Igbo folklore as captured by Chinua Achebe. Often, we hear that El Rufai wants to be president of Nigeria. The impression he has created of himself is that he is an irredentist. No doubt, he has a sharp mind. And a sharp tongue too. A sharp mind that is negatively deployed to the common good is as vacuous as that of a nitwit!