Fight with Shias, Human Rights abuses, backstabbing, unguarded utterances cost El-Rufa’i ministerial appointment

Allegations Of Human Rights abuses, unguarded public utterances, and a purported flood of petitions are the issues advanced by the State Security Service (SSS) against the nomination of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State as a Minister of the federal republic.

In an exclusive report by Premium Times, the latest reason was the comment he made while addressing a group of Muslim clerics in Kaduna after his party, the APC, was declared the winner of the governorship election in March.

The Human Rights abuse includes the case concerning the killing of the sons and followers of the Shiite leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, in Zaria, Kaduna State, in 2015. The case is with International Criminal Court (ICC).

SSS also accused Mr El-Rufai of having engaged in arbitrary arrests of political enemies and seizure of properties and wanton demolition of properties of perceived political enemies.

READ ALSO: I no longer want to be a minister – Nasir El-Rufai

DSS on its part accused him of using force and intimidation to suppress protests, leading to extrajudicial killings of innocent citizens of the state.

The DSS also claimed Mr El-Rufai was involved in alleged embezzlement of public funds, and abuse of trusts, allegedly involving the use of cronies, allies, and family members for corrupt purposes during his time as head of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and governor of Kaduna State.

A lot of cases were pending against Elrufai in different Nigerian and international courts, including the ECOWAS and the ICC. According to the DSS, the agency also listed some petitions filed against Mr El-Rufai, including one it said was sent to President Tinubu by the Islamic Human Rights Commission.

Mr El-Rufai once described Mr Tinubu as the most corrupt person and vowed that he would never deputise such a person with a tainted profile.

The SSS also accused the former governor of backstabbing his former bosses, the agency said he backstabbed former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Vice President Atiku Abubakar (who is said to have brought him into the Obasanjo administration), and the immediate-past President Muhammadu Buhari.

The agency also cited “anti-people policies” that allegedly destroyed people’s livelihoods in Kaduna State as evidence that he is unfit to hold office as minister.

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