- Safiu Kehinde
Muyiwa Adekeye, the media aide to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has called out The Nations newspaper over alleged smear campaign against the former Kaduna state governor.
Adekeye accused the newspaper of publishing a false imputations linking El-Rufai to an attack on a principal witness against the ex-Kaduna governor in his ongoing alleged corruption trial.
As contained in a statement issued on Sunday, the media aide held that Nations had in the report of the incident published on Saturday created impression of El-Rufai being responsible for the gunmen attack on the witness.
“On 18 April 2026, The Nation newspaper published a report headlined “El-Rufai’s trial: Gunmen invade principal witness home.”
“The article stated that Mohammed Umar Karage, a witness in the criminal proceedings at the Kaduna State High Court, had reported to the police that armed individuals had invaded his residence.
“While it is the civic duty of every citizen to report crimes to the authorities, it is an entirely different matter to publish false imputations against others.
“The Nation proceeded to do precisely that by including innuendos suggestive of a plot to frame Malam Nasir El-Rufai.
“According to the report, Mr. Karage linked the incident to his role as a witness in the corruption charges against El-Rufai—specifically one of the nine counts involving the alleged unlawful revocation and reallocation of land.
“The article further quoted Mr. Karage as alleging that the invasion might be part of an effort to silence him, drawing parallels with the controversial disappearance of Kaduna-based activist Abubakar Idris Dadiyata.” Adekeye wrote.
The media aide labelled the report an attempt to smear El-Rufai’s reputation by implicating him with a serious capital offence that will jeopardise his bail application.
“Any objective reader would recognise the clear intent behind these statements: to smear Malam Nasir El-Rufai’s reputation, jeopardise his pending bail application at the Kaduna State High Court, and implicate him in serious capital offences.
“The evident objective is to secure his indefinite detention through these reprehensible tactics.
“Such conduct is unacceptable, particularly toward a citizen who has made substantial contributions to our country.” He wrote.
Adekeye noted that El-Rufai has no connection with the incident.
He disclosed that the ex-Kaduna governor had since initiated a defamation suit against the newspaper.
“Malam Nasir El-Rufai is an upstanding and law-abiding citizen who has no connection whatsoever to the incidents described in The Nation’s publication.
“Therefore, he has already instructed his legal team to initiate defamation proceedings in this matter.” He said.
The media aide alleged that the ex-Kaduna governor had over time been subject to smear campaigns against him despite his distinguished record of public service.
“Since 2023, Malam El-Rufai has been subjected to an appalling and sustained campaign of innuendos and vilification.
“This is a man with a distinguished record of public service.
“Many will recall his sterling service to the cause of national unity through his principled opposition to opportunism, alongside other senior leaders, during the events leading to the 2022 primaries of the ruling party and thereafter.” He said.
Adekeye called for an end to what he labelled persistent disregard to the rights of El-Rufai, stressing that legal proceeding must not be employed to deny him of his fundamental human rights.
“The rule of law must never be perverted into a tool of oppression.
“Legal processes should serve the ends of justice, not be employed to deny a citizen his fundamental right to liberty while he stands trial.
“Malam Nasir El-Rufai should be accorded full due process guaranteed by law to every citizen, and the persistent disregard for his rights must cease immediately.” He added.