Fani-Kayode Slams El-Rufai Over Rights Abuses, AIT Shutdown

Former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has criticised the human rights record of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, particularly during his tenure as minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Fani-Kayode alleged that El-Rufai attempted to shut down African Independent Television (AIT), owned by the late media entrepreneur Raymond Dokpesi, and seize the land on which the station was built.

In a post on his Facebook page, the former minister claimed that El-Rufai not only tried to close down the television station but also confiscated surrounding land belonging to the media organisation.

According to him, “El-Rufai did not just attempt to close down AIT and seize the land on which it was built; he also illegally confiscated large swathes of surrounding land which AIT had paid for and for which it had valid certificates of occupancy. He also knocked down some of their buildings without due process and against court orders.”

Fani-Kayode further alleged that El-Rufai, who has recently complained about alleged rights violations against him, had himself committed several human rights abuses while in office.

He claimed that after El-Rufai was directed to desist from harassing Dokpesi and AIT, he allegedly planned to burn down the television station.

“Unfortunately for him and fortunately for AIT, the plan leaked to a number of insiders in the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and it was opposed by several officials,”
Fani-Kayode wrote.
He listed some of those who allegedly opposed the move to include former chief of staff to the president, Abdullahi Mohammed; former presidential spokesperson, Remi Oyo; former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu; former Political Adviser to the President, Akin Osuntokun; and Uba Sani, who served as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs at the time.

According to Fani-Kayode, their intervention allegedly prevented the plan from being carried out.

“Had it not been that we intervened, ensured the plan was aborted and threatened to report the matter to President Obasanjo, AIT would have been burnt to the ground and the cause of the fire would have been attributed to an electrical fault,” he claimed.

The former minister also argued that during Obasanjo’s administration, critics in the media were not persecuted but rather engaged through public debate.

He cited the late Sam Nda-Isaiah, founder of Leadership Newspaper, as one of the administration’s fiercest critics.

“Rather than lock him up, plan to kill him or burn down his newspaper house, we engaged him in healthy and often volatile debate,” Fani-Kayode said.

He further expressed concern over recent comments attributed to El-Rufai regarding the alleged importation of chemical weapons into the country, urging authorities to investigate the claims thoroughly.

“I may be wrong, but this must be looked into and we must not take any chances,” he said, adding that the allegations raise serious security concerns.

Fani-Kayode concluded that the claims and past actions attributed to El-Rufai should be taken seriously, given their potential implications for national security and democratic freedoms.