KADUNA, Nigeria — Former Kaduna State governor Nasir el-Rufai has accused the administration of his successor, Governor Uba Sani, of sponsoring the thugs who disrupted an opposition coalition meeting in Kaduna over the weekend.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, el-Rufai rejected suggestions that he had any role in the violence, which broke out on Saturday, August 30, 2025, when hoodlums stormed the inauguration of a transition committee formed by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other opposition parties.
“It is very stupid for anyone to think I would invite thugs to invade an event of my party,” el-Rufai said.
“The police were there, I don’t know what they are now investigating, they knew what happened, they provided covers for the thugs to do what they did, so thugs were government sponsored, we know them, we know the police officers that were there. The government of Kaduna state was behind it.”
The former governor alleged that police officers deployed to the event failed to intervene and provided cover for the attackers.
He said he intends to submit evidence to the Police Service Commission and to the Inspector General of Police.
On Saturday, August 30, 2025, suspected thugs armed with cutlasses, clubs, and stones invaded the event in Kaduna city, injuring several participants and damaging vehicles.
Despite the violence, the inauguration of the opposition transition committee went ahead under tense conditions.
El-Rufai said he would also file a petition with the office of the Inspector General of Police over the incident.
The Kaduna State government has yet to respond publicly to the allegations.
