El-Rufai speaks on associates who abandoned him in difficult times

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai on Wednesday addressed the public about his current predicament and the striking silence of several close associates, colleagues, and family members he had steadfastly supported in the past.

The former governor, who is being detained by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over corruption allegations, issued a statement on Facebook titled “My Relationships and the Aftermath.”

In the statement, Mr El-Rufai said he is at peace with his conscience, choosing magnanimity and faith over bitterness despite the perceived abandonment by political allies and personal friends during his trial.

Acknowledging the concern expressed by former allies over the abandonment by those he once stood by, Mr El-Rufai stated that his actions were guided purely by principle, his Islamic faith, values, and his personal conviction, rather than any expectation of future reciprocity.

“Over the years, I have stood by people and for causes I believed in, sometimes in difficult circumstances and at considerable personal cost,” Mr El-Rufai wrote. “I did so not in expectation of praise, gratitude or reciprocity, but because I believed it was right. Those were choices I made freely, and I remain answerable for them.”

Mr El-Rufai’s comments came amid a flurry of social media posts targeting his former colleagues, aides, and close associates, whom commentators accused of remaining silent about his predicament despite their longstanding relationships.

Mr El-Rufai’s ongoing prosecution by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) stems primarily from recommendations in a 2024 Kaduna State House of Assembly probe report that accused his 2015–2023 administration of mismanaging public funds.

The ICPC filed multiple charges against the former governor in federal and state courts, including one alleging that he tapped the phone calls of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

Mr El-Rufai has pleaded not guilty to all charges, maintaining that his prosecution is politically motivated.

He remains in ICPC custody under court-authorised remand orders while his legal team challenges his continued detention.

Read below Mr El-Rufai’s full statement

My Relationships and the Aftermath — by Nasir A El-Rufai

Some have expressed concern at the apparent silence, in my present circumstances, of some of my colleagues, friends and family members whom I have publicly stood by or associated closely with in the past. My own view of this is quite simple, and is presented now.

Throughout my life, I have tried to do what I could for my colleagues and friends, my family, and humanity at large, guided by my Islamic faith, my Arewa upbringing, my personal values, and, above all, my conscience.

Over the years, I have stood by people and for causes I believed in, sometimes in difficult circumstances and at considerable personal cost. I did so not in expectation of praise, gratitude or reciprocity, but because I believed it was right. Those were choices I made freely, and I remain answerable for them.

By the same token, those I have supported are free to make their own choices now that circumstances are reversed. Some may speak; others may remain silent. Others may even deny our relationship or try rewriting history. Their reasons are their own, and I do not wish to judge them merely because their response differs from what others—or even I might have expected.

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Adversity has a way of illuminating relationships. What | learn in difficult times like the past few months may lead me, quietly and without regret, to reconsider the nature of certain relationships and what those who look up to me expect of them. That is neither reproach nor condemnation; it is simply part of seeing people, and life, more clearly.

I have no regrets about standing by people or for causes when I believed it was right to do so, and I bear no resentment towards anyone who chooses not to do the same for me. I would rather remain true to the principles that have guided my own conduct than allow the conduct of others to redefine them.

As for any injustice, ingratitude or injury done to me, I seek neither revenge nor retribution. Ultimate accountability belongs to Almighty Allah, and I leave that judgment to Him, in this world and in the Hereafter.

In the end, each of us must live with the choices we make, and posterity will render whatever verdict it sees fit. My only concern is to remain at peace with my conscience and, above all, with Almighty Allah.