Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has launched a blistering attack on the Kaduna State Police Command over its decision to stop a scheduled meeting of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the state, describing the move as a blatant violation of constitutional rights and a dangerous slide into authoritarianism.
El-Rufai, who addressed a press conference in Kaduna on Thursday, accused the police of acting in bad faith and undermining democracy by obtaining a court order to halt the meeting without proper legal process.
“The police commissioner knows what he is doing is unconstitutional. He claims to have an injunction but has refused to serve us. This morning, he waved a piece of paper saying they had a court order stopping us from meeting. We have not seen the order, and it has not been properly served,” El-Rufai said.
The former governor condemned the action as an extension of political intimidation following last Saturday’s violent attack on an opposition gathering in Kaduna, where suspected thugs armed with cutlasses, clubs and stones disrupted the inauguration of a transition committee involving ADC, PDP, SDP, NNPP and Labour Party members. Several people were injured while property was destroyed amid accusations that the police failed to intervene.
“This is a dangerous descent into lawlessness,” El-Rufai warned. “As responsible leaders, we could have gone ahead with the meeting because nobody can stop us; it is our constitutional right. But we decided to respect the commissioner of police’s claim of a court order, even though we have not seen it. Because we don’t believe the commissioner could be lying.”
El-Rufai disclosed that the press briefing was held at his private residence, where he had not lived for 15 years, to avoid a confrontation with security agencies.
He vowed to challenge the police action all the way to the Supreme Court, stressing that the matter would not be swept under the carpet.
“We want to see that injunction, we want to see the grounds, and of course, we will challenge whatever grounds in court. This is not the end of it. Other things will follow,” he declared.
Efforts to reach Kaduna Police Command spokesperson, DSP Mansir Hassan, for comments were unsuccessful as calls and messages went unanswered.
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