Ambassador-designate, Reno Omokri, has drawn attention to the controversial record of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, amid renewed public debate surrounding his political legacy.
In a post shared on his Facebook page on Friday, Omokri revisited El-Rufai’s eight-year tenure as governor, alleging a pattern of human rights violations, suppression of dissent and punitive actions against perceived critics.
Omokri accused the former governor of presiding over policies and actions that, according to him, led to widespread suffering, particularly among members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as the Shi’a Muslim community. He shared a photograph of the group’s leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, describing his condition as “barbaric and pathetic” during the period under review.
According to Omokri, hundreds of Shi’a Muslims lost their lives during clashes that occurred while El-Rufai was in office. He claimed that 347 men, women, children and infants were officially recorded as having been killed, while unofficial estimates, he said, placed the figure at about 1,000.
“In addition to reducing Sheikh Zakzaky to such a barbaric and pathetic state, 347 Shia Muslim men, women, children, and infants were massacred under Nasir el-Rufai,” Omokri wrote.
The ambassador-designate further alleged that El-Rufai’s administration routinely demolished properties belonging to political opponents and critics, actions he said were aimed at silencing dissenting voices in the state.
El-Rufai has previously defended his actions while in office, maintaining that decisions taken during his tenure were guided by security considerations and the rule of law. However, Omokri’s comments have added fresh fuel to ongoing discussions about accountability, governance and human rights in Nigeria’s recent political history.
The remarks have continued to generate reactions across social media, with supporters and critics offering sharply contrasting views on El-Rufai’s record as governor of Kaduna State.
