Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, on Thursday, expressed strong displeasure over the police order halting a planned meeting of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) leaders in the state, insisting the action violated constitutional provisions.
The disruption follows violent events at an opposition gathering last Saturday, during which suspected thugs stormed the inauguration of a transition committee in Kaduna, targeting leaders from a coalition including the ADC, PDP, SDP, NNPP, and LP.
The attackers, armed with cutlasses, clubs, and stones, injured several participants and destroyed property, while police presence drew criticism for inaction.
El-Rufai condemned the violence, describing it as a “dangerous descent into lawlessness,” and affirmed that lawful political assembly should proceed without undue interference.
Speaking at a press conference at his Kaduna residence on Thursday, El-Rufai said the meeting was meant for the ADC North-West leadership to commiserate with members over last Saturday’s attack by suspected thugs on party members.
“The plan was that the ADC leadership in the North-West are in Kaduna to commiserate with us over the incident of Saturday. And we were going to have that visit in our office.
“The police commissioner wrote to say that we can’t hold it in the state,” he explained.
Speaking further, he accused the police of overreaching their powers, claiming that the state Commissioner of Police obtained a court injunction stopping the meeting without properly serving it on the affected persons.
“He knows what he’s writing violates the Constitution. This morning, he invited the national vice chairman, North-West, and waved a piece of paper claiming they had obtained a court order stopping us from having that meeting. We have not seen the court order.
“It has not been properly served on us. Even if there is a court order, there is a legal process to serve an affected person, and it has not been served on us”, El-Rufai said.
He, however, noted that party leaders chose to respect the police commissioner’s position despite the alleged irregularities.
“As responsible leaders, we had the choice of going there to have our meeting. Nobody can stop us; we are within our constitutional rights.
“But we decided that even though we have not seen the order, we believe the commissioner of police. Because we don’t believe the commissioner of police could be lying”, he stated.
El-Rufai added that the decision to hold the press briefing at his private residence was to avoid confrontation with security agencies, noting that he had not lived in the house for 15 years, as it was under renovation.
“As responsible leaders of our community, we felt that if a law enforcement officer tells us he has an injunction, we will abide by it. But we are still waiting to be served. We want to see that injunction, we want to see the grounds, and of course, we will challenge whatever grounds to the Supreme Court”, he declared.
He warned that the matter would not be swept under the carpet, hinting at possible legal battles ahead.
“This is not the end of it. Other things will follow after this,” El-Rufai said.
Efforts to reach the Kaduna Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Mansir Hassan, were unsuccessful as calls and messages were unanswered.
The PUNCH
