Babajide Kolade-Otitoju, popularly known as BKO and News Director of TVC News, has said former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai believed his detention would trigger riots across Northern Nigeria but has instead been left to his fate.
Speaking as a guest on the TVC News program Issues with Jide, Kolade-Otitoju said El-Rufai has been completely abandoned by the political elite he once stood for and warned that he may remain in custody until after the 2027 general election. Kolade-Otitoju was reacting to El-Rufai’s recent lamentation from detention after spending over 220 days in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“I think his lamentation is justified. If anyone had predicted to me that El-Rufai would be abandoned in this way, I would have argued. I’m sure El-Rufai must have thought that his detention would probably have triggered riots in Northern Nigeria. But he’s been left to his fate,” Kolade-Otitoju said.
The TVC News director alleged that El-Rufai’s bail conditions were deliberately designed to be difficult to meet.
“They designed the bail conditions in such a way that it’s very improbable that El-Rufai would be able to meet them, except the judges in the two cases decide to vary the conditions. Otherwise, he could be in detention until probably after the election. It’s possible that even those who put him in this dilemma are determined to ensure that he does not play any part in the impending 2027 election,” he stated.
He expressed puzzlement that Northern leaders — including some close to the president who could intervene — have remained silent, describing it as a lesson that no Nigerian should assume guaranteed public support in a tussle with the state.
Kolade-Otitoju said even contractors and politicians who benefited from El-Rufai’s government have become taciturn, with many of his former close allies now in the camp of the current Kaduna State governor.
Addressing speculation that El-Rufai was referring to Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Kolade-Otitoju recalled how El-Rufai stood by Sanusi when he was banished by former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to Nasarawa State in March 2020, even appointing him to a board position in Kaduna.
However, he said the Emir is in a precarious position because his stool is still being contested by Aminu Ado Bayero, with the Supreme Court yet to rule.
“If he fights for El-Rufai publicly, he will be seen as taking a stand against the government. The kind of power that El-Rufai had as a governor who also had immunity, the Emir does not have. The Emir is beholden to the governor,” he explained.
Kolade-Otitoju quoted El-Rufai as saying his decision to stand by people was guided by his Islamic faith and personal values, not by an expectation of gratitude, and that adversity illuminates true relationships.
“Many of El-Rufai’s friends have abandoned him… He said he would rather remain faithful to the principles that guided his conduct than allow the actions of others to alter those principles. He is not seeking revenge, but affirms that ultimate accountability belongs to Almighty Allah,” Kolade-Otitoju added.
He also claimed that efforts were made to secure El-Rufai’s release on health grounds with a document from the National Hospital, but the hospital management rejected the report.
El-Rufai has now spent over 220 days in detention, according to the veteran journalist.
