Immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, has petitioned the Police Service Commission (PSC) about alleged gross misconduct by senior officers of the state police command.
In a letter dated September 8, 2025, el-Rufai accused the Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State of abusing his office.
He urged the PSC to immediately launch an impartial investigation into what he described as “unlawful and unconstitutional conduct” by authorities of the command.
The former governor stated, in the petition, “I am writing as a citizen of Nigeria and former governor of Kaduna State to formally lodge this complaint and demand an immediate, impartial, and exhaustive investigation into the unlawful and unconstitutional conduct of the Commissioner of Police and some officers of the Kaduna State Police Command.”
Of late, there had been a face-off between El-Rufai and the Kaduna State Police Command.
On August 30, the former governor and other opposition politicians were attacked by suspected political thugs during a meeting in Kaduna.
El-Rufai subsequently accused the police of collusion with the thugs, and said the officers merely watched while the meeting was being attacked.
Last week, the command invited El-Rufai, along with six senior members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), for questioning over allegations relating to criminal conspiracy, incitement of public disturbance, mischief and causing grievous hurt.
The former governor had earlier threatened to petition the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the PSC over the attack on the opposition supporters and members of ADC by suspected hoodlums at a political meeting he was billed to attend.
THISDAY gathered that the suspected hoodlums, who were armed, stormed the Conference Hall of NUT Endwell in Magadishu, Kaduna, shooting sporadically in the air while attacking attendees of the meeting.
Several individuals were injured in the attack, despite presence of police officers at the event, which was later confirmed to be a transition meeting of ADC and Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The Kaduna State Police Command had in a statement issued after the incident blamed El-Rufai for the attack, with preliminary investigation alleging the hoodlums who carried out the mayhem were linked to the former governor.
While El-Rufai had kept mum over the incident but later opened up on the attack while speaking on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics programme.
El-Rufai labelled the police allegation against him as evidence of the collapse in Nigeria’s policing system, as he questioned how he could invite thugs to disrupt an event organised by him.
He accused the police officers of providing cover for the hoodlums who he alleged to be sponsored by the Kaduna State government.
According to the former governor, “The police were there. I don’t know what they were investigating. They know what happened. They provided cover to the thugs to do what they did. Those thugs were government-sponsored. We know them. We know the police officers that were there.
“I had earlier this year or last year submitted a petition to the IGP on the conduct of some police officers in Kaduna that are being used by the state government to kidnap opposition figures and critics and I’m waiting for the outcome of that investigation.
“But this attempt by the police to issue a statement implying that we as a political party will invite thugs to invade and disrupt our event. It is a sure sign that our policing system has collapsed.”
El-Rufai added, “That we no longer have thinking people like my former course mate, Solomon Arase. We were classmates. May his soul rest in peace.
“We used to have policemen. Now we have shadows of the police. They were there and I’m submitting a petition to the IG and the Police Service Commission because this gets to the root of the failure of the policing system.
“When law enforcement agents are the ones that are used to facilitate and protect those that are engaged in violence, then we are on our way to total destruction of everything that we stand for in this country.”
El-Rufai further dismissed the claim by the police that they were not properly notified ahead of the event, as he reiterated that the Kaduna State government was behind the attack.
El-Rufai stated, “What is proper notification? Under which law? What section of the constitution? No one can abridge my right of association.
“No one can ask me to give any notice. I can give if I choose. It is not a legal constitutional requirement and people should stop overrating themselves just because they have the position today.
“I was governor of that state for eight years. Never at any time did I stop any opposition party from having meetings. This is an overreach. The government of Kaduna State is behind it.”
Chuks Okocha
About the Author
