SUNTV Global Channel, February 16, 2026 –
A coalition of survivors and families of victims of alleged human rights abuses during former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s tenure has called for urgent accountability, citing years of extrajudicial killings, abductions, and forced displacements.
The Kaduna Victims’ Coalition, representing “countless individuals, families and communities” affected between 2015 and 2023, said in a statement released Monday that the era under El-Rufai left citizens living in fear, with enduring hardship and trauma.
The statement, endorsed by prominent figures and organizations including Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, Audu Maikori, Gloria Ballason, Steven Kefas, Luka Binniyat, Midat Joseph, Segun Onibiyo, House of Justice, Community Development & Rights Advocacy Foundation, Resilient Aid and Dialogue Initiative, SKIPFo, and Atrocities Watch Africa, emphasized that the coalition represents citizens from all walks of life, including traditional rulers, faith leaders, academics, journalists, lawyers, and business leaders.
Among the highlighted cases is the abduction and killing of HRH Dr. Maiwada Raphael Galadima, the Agwam Adara, in October 2018. Despite ransom payments, Dr. Galadima was murdered amid efforts by the state government to restructure traditional institutions, a move the coalition says deepened ethnic and communal tensions. Suspects in the case remain unprosecuted.
The coalition also cited the disappearance of Abubakar Idris, also known as Dadiyata, a lecturer at Federal University Dutsenma, abducted from his residence in August 2019 and missing for nearly seven years. They condemned public remarks by El-Rufai’s son, Bashir El-Rufai, which they described as dismissive of calls for Idris’ safe return.
“During his tenure, Nasir El-Rufai presided over a pattern of indiscriminate actions: arbitrary abductions, persecution of critics, reprisal violence, unlawful demolitions of homes, mass dismissals of workers without due process, forced sackings by employers of perceived opponents, and the displacement of citizens into exile,” the coalition stated.
The group expressed concern over narratives portraying El-Rufai as a champion of human rights, stressing that victims and families are still seeking justice. They demanded independent investigations, prosecutions where evidence warrants, and closure for affected families, pledging full cooperation with Nigerian law enforcement, judicial bodies, and human rights institutions.
“Our moral and civic duty is to bear witness on behalf of those who cannot speak,” the coalition said. “Pursuing justice is essential to prevent future suffering and uphold the dignity of all Nigerians.”
