Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has launched a scathing attack on the human rights record of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, particularly during his time as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a detailed Facebook post, Fani-Kayode accused El-Rufai of attempting to shut down African Independent Television (AIT), owned by the late media mogul Raymond Dokpesi, and illegally seizing the land on which the station stood.
According to Fani-Kayode, El-Rufai not only sought to close the television station but also confiscated large portions of surrounding land for which AIT held valid certificates of occupancy.
He further alleged that El-Rufai demolished some of the station’s buildings without following due process and in defiance of court orders.
Fani-Kayode claimed that El-Rufai, who has recently raised concerns about alleged violations of his own rights, was responsible for multiple human rights abuses while in office.
He escalated the accusations by alleging that, after being ordered to stop harassing Dokpesi and AIT, El-Rufai devised a plan to set the television station ablaze.
“Unfortunately for him and fortunately for AIT, the plan leaked to a number of insiders in the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and it was opposed by several officials,” Fani-Kayode wrote.
He named key figures who allegedly intervened to stop the plan, including former Chief of Staff to the President Abdullahi Mohammed, former presidential spokesperson Remi Oyo, then-EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu, former Political Adviser Akin Osuntokun, and Uba Sani, who was Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs at the time.
Fani-Kayode asserted that their collective opposition prevented the alleged arson, stating: “Had it not been that we intervened, ensured the plan was aborted and threatened to report the matter to President Obasanjo, AIT would have been burnt to the ground and the cause of the fire would have been attributed to an electrical fault.”
Contrasting his experience in the Obasanjo administration, Fani-Kayode argued that media critics were not persecuted but engaged through open debate.
He pointed to the late Sam Nda-Isaiah, founder of Leadership Newspaper, as an example of a vocal critic who faced no threats of imprisonment, violence, or destruction of property.
The former minister also expressed alarm over recent statements attributed to El-Rufai concerning the alleged importation of chemical weapons into Nigeria.
He called for a thorough investigation, warning that the claims pose grave national security risks.
“I may be wrong, but this must be looked into and we must not take any chances,” Fani-Kayode said.
He concluded by urging that both El-Rufai’s past actions and his recent allegations be treated with the seriousness they deserve, citing implications for democratic freedoms and national security.
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