The Southern Kaduna Leadership Council (SKLC) has issued a damning call to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, demanding an immediate judicial probe into the tenure of former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, over what it describes as a calculated regime of “state-sponsored persecution, ethnic cleansing, and systematic human rights violations” against the people of Southern Kaduna.
Speaking at a world press conference in Kaduna on Wednesday, the Council denounced what it termed “malicious propaganda and historical distortions” circulated by El-Rufai’s former media aide, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye. The SKLC accused Adekeye of being the mouthpiece of a calculated effort to whitewash the “heinous legacy” of El-Rufai’s administration.
In a strongly worded statement titled “Dispelling Lies and Hate Against a People: El-Rufai’s Reign of Terror Against Southern Kaduna,” signed by the Council’s Secretary, Timothy B. Gandu, the SKLC tore apart the claim that communities in Southern Kaduna had voluntarily requested the renaming and balkanization of their traditional chiefdoms. Rather, the Council described these actions as “deceptive, unilateral, and executed with imperial arrogance.”
According to the Council, El-Rufai in 2017 set up a 13-member committee under the guise of chieftaincy reforms. The committee was allegedly used as a front to enforce name changes and redraw boundaries of indigenous chiefdoms—moves the Council says lacked community consent and were met with overwhelming resistance. “Out of 25 affected chiefdoms, 17 wrote letters explicitly rejecting the changes, while another seven categorically stated they made no such request,” the statement read. “Yet, in typical despotic fashion, El-Rufai bulldozed ahead.”
The SKLC further accused the ex-governor of deliberately sowing religious and ethnic discord in the state. Citing a now-viral video, the Council alleged that El-Rufai admitted to deceiving Southern Kaduna Christians while promoting a covert Muslim-Muslim governance agenda, betraying the secular fabric of the state.
More chillingly, the Council accused El-Rufai of complicity in what it referred to as a “slow-burning genocide” in Southern Kaduna. It alleged that the former governor used public funds to pay off suspected killers in a so-called “peace initiative” that incentivized nonviolence through undisclosed payments. “What sort of leader pays murderers not to kill? This is not peace-building—it’s criminal appeasement,” the SKLC fumed, demanding full investigations by security agencies and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Enumerating a litany of alleged abuses, the SKLC pointed to:
Religious and ethnic manipulation: Including pitting communities against one another;
Illegal creation of emirates: In ethnically diverse areas under the pretext of reforms;
Suspicious deaths and dethronements: Of traditional rulers who resisted state control;
Arbitrary redistricting: Reducing districts from 390 to 77, thereby weakening indigenous institutions;
Use of 2021 Traditional Institution Law: To demote, silence, and intimidate traditional leaders;
Mass retrenchment: Of Southern Kaduna civil servants and systemic exclusion from governance;
Targeted closures of schools: Disproportionately affecting Southern Kaduna youth;
Inflammatory rhetoric: Including public insults directed at elders and leaders of the region;
Failure to establish IDP camps: Despite mass displacement from relentless attacks;
Illegal boundary adjustments: Including the annexation of lands without due process;
Arbitrary detentions: Of community and SOKAPU leaders under false pretenses.
The Council did not stop at mere condemnation. Among their demands are:
1. A full judicial inquiry into El-Rufai’s tenure, including a public hearing;
2. A lifetime ban from holding public office;
3. Immediate enforcement of a Federal High Court judgment which found him guilty of abuse of office;
4. A statewide review and repeal of all exclusionary laws enacted under El-Rufai;
5. Restoration of the 2015 traditional chieftaincy structure and repeal of the 2021 Traditional Institution Law.
In a contrasting tone, the Council lauded Governor Uba Sani for charting a new course in governance. It commended his administration’s inclusive approach, citing the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia and a Federal Medical Centre in Kafanchan as key indicators of renewed developmental focus in the marginalized region.
“We believe that His Excellency, Governor Uba Sani, is sowing the seeds of unity, equity, and justice. If he continues on this path, Kaduna can truly become a haven of hope, not horror,” the statement concluded.
As calls for accountability mount, many now await the federal government’s response—whether it will heed the cries of a people long battered by conflict and perceived marginalisation or allow silence to embolden impunity.
PIONEER NEWS 