El-Rufai Faces Fresh Allegation, Accused of Persecuting Christians

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has renewed his criticism of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, accusing him of persecuting Christians and marginalising Christian communities during his eight years in office.

Fani-Kayode made the fresh allegations while speaking about the growing political disagreement between El-Rufai and his successor, Governor Uba Sani.

He claimed that the treatment of Christians under the former governor went beyond political differences and amounted to discrimination against some communities in the state.

The former minister alleged that Christians were killed during El-Rufai’s administration, while some communities in Southern Kaduna were denied development and government allocations.

He also accused the former governor of making derogatory comments about Christian leaders and treating some Christian officials with contempt.

Fani-Kayode said many Christians in Kaduna protested against what they considered unfair policies but largely chose peaceful means and prayer instead of violence.

He also spoke about his relationship with Uba Sani, who served under El-Rufai before succeeding him as governor.

Fani-Kayode described Sani as a fair-minded politician who, in his view, did not discriminate against people because of their religion.

According to him, he had previously raised concerns with Sani over the treatment of Christians in Kaduna.

Fani-Kayode claimed that Sani later shared information with him about what he allegedly knew regarding El-Rufai’s approach to both Christian and Muslim communities.

The former minister also alleged that Barnabas Bala Bantex, who served as El-Rufai’s deputy governor, was subjected to insults because of his Christian faith during cabinet meetings.

“There are so many things that he told me, but I’ll just leave it at that,” Fani-Kayode said.

He went further by describing El-Rufai as a “monster” and accused him of attempting to weaken Christian communities and undermine their faith.

Fani-Kayode argued that Uba Sani’s emergence as governor created an opportunity to reverse some of the policies he said had caused resentment among Christians in the state.

He also claimed that El-Rufai did not enjoy unanimous support among Muslims during his time in office.

According to Fani-Kayode, some of his Muslim associates had contacted him to complain about policies and statements attributed to the former governor.

The former minister said his criticism of El-Rufai was not based solely on party politics.

He recalled that he had publicly challenged the former governor even while both were members of the All Progressives Congress.

Fani-Kayode said two Facebook posts he made criticising El-Rufai attracted more than six million views within two days.

He explained that his religious convictions influenced his decision to speak out.

“There’s something that comes before politics, comes before anything, and that is God, because it is God that gives you everything else,” he said.

He maintained that people should not remain silent when they believe members of their communities are being treated unfairly.

Politics Nigeria recalls on February, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani approved the participation of 50 Christians from the state in a pilgrimage, ending an 11-year suspension of the programme.

The Christian pilgrimage scheme had been discontinued after the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Agency was scrapped during El-Rufai’s administration.

The return of the programme became significant because it was the first state-backed Christian pilgrimage in more than a decade.

The Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria welcomed the decision.

“We are grateful to Governor Uba Sani for approving 50 Christians to commence pilgrimage after 11 years. This decision has restored hope and strengthened the confidence of Christians in the state,” CAN chairman Rev. Ma’aji Bawa said.

The issue later received another dimension when Sheikh Haliru Maraya, a member of the Kaduna State Special Hajj Committee, alleged that the pilgrimage policy introduced by El-Rufai was not implemented equally.

Speaking on February, Maraya claimed that although the policy initially appeared to affect both Muslims and Christians, the implementation later favoured Muslim pilgrims.

“At face value, the policy appeared to apply uniformly to both Muslim and Christian pilgrims. However, subsequent developments revealed a divergence between policy pronouncement and policy implementation,” he said.

According to Maraya, the state continued to sponsor Muslim pilgrims for Hajj while Christian pilgrims did not receive similar government sponsorship for trips to Jerusalem during the period he examined.

The Kaduna State Government also stated in February that El-Rufai had stopped government sponsorship for Christian pilgrimage while Muslim Hajj sponsorship continued during his tenure.

Sani, who worked with El-Rufai before becoming governor, has in recent months taken steps that have been presented as a shift in the state’s approach to religious inclusion.

In July 2026, Sani also selected a Christian, Jerry Adams, as his running mate for the 2027 governorship election. The decision marked a departure from the Muslim-Muslim arrangement adopted by El-Rufai and continued by Sani during his first term. Sani said the move was part of his effort to build “a more united, peaceful and inclusive Kaduna State.”