Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, filed a case against the state’s Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Rabiu, on Monday, accusing him of “unprofessional conduct, abuse of office, and serial violations.”
The appeal added a new twist to the conflict between the African Democratic Congress leadership in Kaduna State and the state’s police command.
Last Thursday, the Kaduna police locked the Kaduna ADC secretariat and summoned El-Rufai and other ADC leaders for questioning on charges of “conspiracy, incitement, mischief, and disturbance of public peace in the state.”
Previously, members of the Kaduna ADC had been attacked by political thugs, and the ADC accused the police of backing them.
Rather than honoring the police invitation, El-Rufai, according to a statement released on Monday by his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, brought the police commissioner before the Police Service Commissioner.
El-Rufai claimed in the petition that the Commissioner of Police and several officials of the Kaduna Police Command have committed acts “unbecoming of their calling” after taking office on December 30, 2024.
The former governor said he was forced to notify the PSC after an earlier petition to the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, failed to stop what he described as the officers’ “egregiously unlawful” behavior.
“I am writing out of concern that the Nigeria Police, warts and all, is the only frontline law enforcement institution we have,” El-Rufai stated in a statement signed by his media adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye, in Kaduna on Monday.
“The duty of all citizens is not only to support it at every level but also to ensure that the commission is provided opportunities to deliver on its regulatory powers to enforce discipline and promote sound and ethical conduct by all police officers at all times,” he added.
El-Rufai, known for his fiery disposition, accused some police officers of “serving interests other than those conferred by law,” insisting that such behavior tarnished the image of the force and eroded public confidence in its leadership.
“This laudable goal can only be attained if the commission’s attention is continuously drawn to any egregious conduct of some bad eggs that serve interests other than those conferred by law in Section 4 of the Police Act, 2020,” he said.
“Such conduct thereby negatively affects the image of the police and undermines public confidence in its leadership.”
The former governor did not elaborate on the alleged misconduct in the petition made available to the media, but sources close to him said it was related to a series of police actions in the state in recent months that reportedly targeted some of his political colleagues.
The Kaduna State Police Command had yet to publicly respond to the petition, while calls and mail to DSP Mansir Hassan, the command’s Public Relations Officer, went unanswered.
