Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El-Rufai
Coalition of victims and civil society actors on Monday called for an independent investigation into alleged human rights violations during the administration of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Operating under the banner of the Kaduna Victims’ Coalition, the group said survivors and families affected by policies and security incidents between 2015 and 2023 were demanding “full accountability under the rule of law.”
El-Rufai, who governed Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023, has previously defended his record, maintaining that his administration acted within the law and in the best interest of the state.
In a statement issued in Abuja and Kaduna and obtained by our correspondent, the coalition said its membership comprised community leaders, professionals, traditional rulers, faith leaders, journalists, lawyers, public servants and other citizens who claimed to have endured hardship during the eight-year administration.
“We speak today as representatives of countless individuals, families and communities who endured eight years of profound hardship, terror, fear and loss under the governorship of Nasir El-Rufai in Kaduna State,” the statement read.
“Our coalition includes citizens from all walks of life — community and business leaders, serving and retired public servants, traditional rulers, faith leaders, academics, journalists, lawyers and other professionals.”
The statement was signed by former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu; Audu Maikori; Gloria Ballason; Steven Kefas; Luka Binniyat; Midat Joseph; Segun Onibiyo; and organisations including House of Justice, Community Development & Rights Advocacy Foundation, Resilient Aid and Dialogue Initiative, Southern Kaduna Indigenes, Progressive Forum (SKIPFo), and Atrocities Watch Africa (AWA).
Among the cases cited was the 2018 abduction and killing of HRH Dr. Maiwada Raphael Galadima, the Agwam Adara.
“HRH Dr. Maiwada Raphael Galadima, the Agwam Adara, was abducted in October 2018 and brutally murdered despite ransom payment,” the coalition stated.
“His killing occurred amid efforts to restructure traditional institutions, including the controversial conversion of the chiefdom into an emirate structure, deepening ethnic and communal tensions.”
The coalition alleged that suspects arrested in connection with the monarch’s murder had not been successfully prosecuted and that their whereabouts “cannot be ascertained.”
The group also referenced the disappearance of Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutsenma, who was abducted from his residence in Barnawa, Kaduna, on August 2, 2019.
“He has remained missing, effectively disappeared for nearly seven years,” the statement said.
“August 2026 will mark the seventh anniversary of his abduction and trigger the statutory presumption of death under Nigerian law.”
The statement further criticised a December 23, 2019 social media post by Bashir El-Rufai, son of the former governor, which it described as “widely perceived as gloating over the incident and dismissing calls for his safe return.”
Beyond individual cases, the coalition alleged what it described as a broader pattern of actions during the period.
“During his tenure, Nasir El-Rufai presided over a pattern of indiscriminate actions: arbitrary abductions, persecution of critics, reprisal violence, unlawful demolitions of homes, mass dismissals of workers without due process, forced sackings by employers of perceived opponents, and the displacement of citizens into exile,” the statement read.
“These acts bypassed constitutional safeguards and Nigerian law, turning gubernatorial immunity into unchecked impunity.”
However, the coalition did not provide detailed documentary evidence in the statement for each of the allegations.
The group expressed concern over what it described as attempts to “reframe” the former governor’s record.
“It is not about political vendetta or media narratives,” the statement read. “It is about families who lost loved ones, livelihoods destroyed, and communities displaced. These wounds remain open because there has been no transparent process of accountability.”
“No democracy can thrive where allegations of abuse are swept aside. We believe independent investigations, free from political interference, are necessary to restore public confidence.”
According to the coalition, “Justice is not selective. Where there is no wrongdoing, investigations will clear the record. But where evidence establishes violations, the law must take its course.”
“Our sole demand is accountability under the rule of law — thorough and independent investigations, prosecutions where evidence warrants, and justice for victims and their families,” the statement concluded.
The group also pledged to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and judicial institutions should formal investigations be initiated.
