Four of my associates have been arrested — they’ll come for me too, says El-Rufai

Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, says he expects to be arrested “any moment now” by federal authorities.

Speaking in a recent interview with BBC Hausa, el-Rufai said four individuals who worked closely with him during his tenure as governor have already been arrested, adding that he believes he may be the next.

He alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is aggressively pressuring politicians—either to defect to the party or to remain inside it—as the battle for 2027 begins to take shape.

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“Four people who worked with me in Kaduna have been arrested. So, for me, it’s only a matter of time—they will come for me too,” he said.

The former governor, who governed Kaduna for eight years on the platform of the APC before defecting to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has in recent months sharply increased his criticism of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling party.

His warning comes against the backdrop of intensified political horse-trading and defections across the country as various camps position themselves for the 2027 presidential election.

On Tuesday, el-Rufai said he was never a friend of Tinubu.

He said their lack of conviviality predated Tinubu’s election as the APC presidential flagbearer in 2022.

“There is an assumption that I was ever Tinubu’s friend. I was not. We never got along. We never had a personal relationship like the one I had with General Buhari,” he said.