Just In: So el-Rufa'i's Family Want Him Released Because of a Common Nosebleed?
I sympathise with Nasir el-Rufa'i for the alleged nosebleed he suffered while being detained. But that is a very minor issue. Millions of Nigerians experience nosebleeds daily during the Harmattan.
At least, he is alive, eating, and has access to his lawyers and medications.
But then what about Dadiyata? If Nasir wants us to feel sympathy for him because of a common nosebleed, what should we feel for Dadiyata, who has been missing after armed security officials snatched him from the driveway of his house in the wee hours of Friday, August 2, 2019?
He has not been heard from ever since. His wife, Khadija Ahmad Lame, and their two young daughters, Hanifa and Fatima, have been living in trauma since Dadiyata's 2019 abduction under el-Rufa'i's despotic regime.
During the Arise TV interview, where his leaky mouth put himself into trouble, el-Rufa'i admitted that he knows at least one of the policemen involved in the matter.
From where did that officer get the information about Dadiyata? el-Rufa'i' should make that officer, who should join him in detention for interrogation and investigation.
A nosebleed is not a serious medical condition that should warrant release. Under el-Rufa'i, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky was beaten black and blue and lost an eye while in detention. Did el-Rufa'i release him?
Nasir el-Rufa'i detained Luka Biniyat, a journalist with Vanguard Newspaper, who suffered hypertension in detention. Why didn't el-Rufa'i release him because of that serious ailment?
el-Rufa'i also arrested and jailed Midat Joseph, a journalist with Leadership Newspaper. Mr Joseph developed malaria in detention, but was not released.
el-Rufa'i also arrested many other journalists including, Jacob Dickson, Sunny Yayock, and Stephen Kefas, along with Audu Maikori, a lawyer and music mogul.
They all suffered various ailments under detention but were not released. Some of them, I personally interviewed. Nasir is complaining that his wife was not allowed to deliver food directly to him. At least she knows where he is and has had food delivered to him through security officials, as is protocol.
The wives and families of el-Rufai's victims did not even know where their husbands and relatives were, let alone taking food to them.
So, nosebleed or not, Nasir el-Rufa'i's chickens have come home to roost, and he should remain in detention until he secures his bail. Then he ought to be rearrested for his role in the Dadiyata affair until and unless he tells us #WhereIsDadiyata!
Surely, a man who allegedly bled Kaduna dry and is accused of looting a whopping ₦432 billion from the state coffers can definitely handle a common nosebleed!
Reno Omokri
Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #TableShaker. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Hodophile. Hollywood Magazine Humanitarian of the Year, 2019. Business Insider Influencer of the Year 2022. 21st Most Talked About Person in Africa, 2024.
