Ambassador-designate Reno Omokri has again brought attention to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

He pointed out that El-Rufai’s eight-year time in office was marked by serious accusations of human rights abuses and silencing people who disagreed with him.

In a post via his X handle on Friday, February 13, Omokri revisited El-Rufai’s tenure, pointing to incidents that critics say demonstrate a pattern of persecution against opponents, including property demolition and forced exile of journalists and activists.

Omokri shared a graphic image of Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, saying the Shiite leader was reduced to a “barbaric and pathetic state” under El-Rufai’s rule.

He alleged that “347 Shia Muslim men, women, children, and infants were massacred under Nasir el-Rufai,” while unofficial estimates put the death toll at around 1,000.

“In addition to reducing Sheikh Zakzaky to such a barbaric and pathetic state, 347 Shia Muslim men, women, children, and infants were massacred under Nasir el-Rufai,” Omokri wrote.

The post also referenced the case of Abubakar Idris, a critic who was reportedly abducted and is still presumed dead, along with other journalists and activists who allegedly fled the country to escape persecution.

READ ALSO: Lawyers Condemn Alleged Attempted Arrest of El-Rufai at Abuja Airport

Omokri further accused El-Rufai of demolishing properties belonging to critics, including Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi and Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir, describing it as part of a broader pattern of intimidation.

He also listed several journalists and activists whom he said were arrested for critical coverage, naming Jacob Onjewu Dickson, Segun Onibiyo, Midat Joseph and Audu Maikori.

The former presidential aide described El-Rufai’s current claims of persecution as “grandstanding,” arguing that the former governor is now being prosecuted for alleged crimes committed during his tenure.

Omokri specifically referenced allegations that El-Rufai stole ₦423 billion while serving as governor, and insisted that he should face the law.

He warned that “no one is above the law.”

Omokri’s post reads: “Before You Feel Sorry For Nasir el-Rufai

“Look at the attached photo very carefully. It is unedited. In case the notoriously short-memory Nigerian public has forgotten, this is what Nasir el-Rufai did to Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zakzaky when he was Governor of Kaduna State for eight unfortunate years between 2015 and 2023.

“In addition to reducing Sheikh Zakzaky to such a barbaric and pathetic state, 347 Shia Muslim men, women, children, and infants were massacred under Nasir el-Rufai.

“That was the official figure. The unofficial figure put the death toll at about a thousand!

“Under Nasir el-Rufai, his critic, Abubakar Idris, was snatched from his house before Salatul Jumu’ah prayers on Friday, August 2, 2019, never to be seen again to this day. He is believed dead!

“Dadiyata, as Abubakar Idris is (or was) fondly called, left behind at home a wife, Khadija Ahmad Lame, and two young daughters, Hanifa and Fatima, who have been living in trauma since his 2019 abduction under the el-Rufai despotic regime.

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“Nasir el-Rufai arrested multiple journalists and activists for covering him negatively, including: Jacob Onjewu Dickson, Segun Onibiyo, Midat Joseph, Audu Maikori

“Audu Maikori had to escape Nigeria for the United States, where I met him, interviewed him, and shuddered in terror at what Nasir el-Rufai did to him.

“After Nasir el-Rufai was criticised by the Peoples Democratic Party in Kaduna, he demolished a house linked to the official who criticised him on claims that the house hosted a “sex party”. I interviewed the owner, Aisha Mercy Yakubu, and she said nothing of such occurring. She was just a victim of Nasir el-Rufai’s vendetta!

“Nasir el-Rufai also demolished the home of his major critic, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, the leader of a faction of the Kaduna State All Progressives Congress opposed to him.

“To further disgrace Senator Hunkuyi, the house was demolished at 2 a.m.

“Nasir el-Rufai also demolished the house of another critic, Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir, then the APC National Vice Chairman (North West), who was strongly critical of el-Rufai and opposed his re-election.

“This is a man who boasted of paying killer herdsmen. The ordeal of the harrowing experiences of Southern Kaduna Christians under this butcher is another cautionary tale.

“His hatred for Christians and Christianity is encapsulated in his boast that:

” ‘Even if Pope is my running mate, Christians won’t vote for me.’

“So, please, Nasir el-Rufai should stop all this grandstanding and falsely accusing the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, of his present condition.

“The truth is that Nasir el-Rufai is fingered in the alleged theft of ₦423 billion during his tenure by no less a body than the Kaduna State House of Assembly. He is not above the law or above arrest.

“He should not resist legal arrest or try to blame others for his alleged crimes. It is doubtful that any Governor in the history of Nigeria has arrested more of their critics than Nasir el-Rufai.

“And because he did it, his guilty conscience makes him think that everybody is like him.

“No, Nasir, you are not being persecuted. You are being prosecuted!”

Recall that a tense confrontation reportedly unfolded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Thursday involving former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai and operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

El-Rufai’s supporters claimed the security agents attempted to arrest him shortly after his arrival from Cairo, but the former governor resisted, insisting that no formal invitation or arrest warrant had been presented to justify the move.

According to eyewitness accounts, the DSS operatives allegedly seized El-Rufai’s international passport during the encounter, triggering a heated reaction from bystanders who demanded adherence to due process.

El-Rufai’s legal team has condemned the action as “unlawful” and “a flagrant violation of constitutional rights,” calling for the immediate return of his passport and a formal apology.