Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani has linked Nasir El-Rufai’s ongoing detention to the former Kaduna governor’s record in office, arguing that public officials should remember that political power is temporary.
Sani made the comments during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he discussed El-Rufai’s detention and his years as governor of Kaduna State.
While acknowledging the difficulties of spending a long period in detention, Sani said El-Rufai’s current situation should also be viewed in the context of how his administration treated people who came into conflict with the government.
“El-Rufai is paying the price of his misgovernance and his irresponsibility when he was in public office,” Sani said.
The former senator, who said he personally spent more than four years in prison during his time as a pro-democracy activist, said he understood the hardship associated with imprisonment.
He also noted that political relationships can change when someone loses power and influence.
“But it is natural, when you are out of circulation, you are bound to lose friends. You are bound to see things differently from the way you are,” Sani said.
Sani alleged that several people were arrested or detained during El-Rufai’s tenure between 2015 and 2023. He accused the former administration of using government institutions against critics and opponents.
He also argued that the experience should remind politicians that occupying public office does not last forever.
“When you are in office, always remind yourself that it is an opportunity and it is a very temporary opportunity for you,” he said.
The former lawmaker also turned his attention to insecurity in Southern and Central Kaduna, rejecting suggestions that the issue had been adequately handled during El-Rufai’s administration.
He argued that many people commenting on the situation had little knowledge of the communities affected by years of violence.
“If you look at it, 80 per cent of those who are commenting have never been to Southern Kaduna. They don’t know where Sanga is. They don’t know where Kauru is. They don’t know where Kachia is,” he said.
Sani alleged that the state government did not provide sufficient support to security agencies to tackle the violence and questioned the effectiveness of the measures adopted during El-Rufai’s tenure.
“If he has done anything, the bloodshed would not have been worse as they were,” he said.
He also revisited allegations surrounding negotiations with bandits during the former governor’s tenure. Sani cited reports involving journalist Luka Binyat, who he said was arrested after reporting on alleged payments to bandits by the Kaduna State Government.
“It came from the lips of the former governor that they pay bandits not to kill,” Sani said.
Sani’s comments come amid continued legal proceedings involving El-Rufai, with the former governor facing allegations relating to financial misconduct and the alleged unlawful interception of telephone communications. El-Rufai has denied wrongdoing in the cases.
