The bad blood between two former political associates and friends – National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and former Kaduna governor, Nasir el Rufai – has resurfaced with the latter lining up behind Kano social activist, Ms. Najatu Mohammed, to say that Ribadu actually accused President Bola Tinubu, of corruption nearly two decades ago.
Ms. Mohammed drew the ire of Ribadu when she recalled that he once accused President Bola Tinubu and other former governors like George Akume (then of Benue State) and Orji Uzor Kalu (then of Abia State) of corruption while he was EFCC Chairman.
An angry Ribadu demanded a retraction and an apology from her. But she is standing her ground.
el Rufai in a post on his X (former Twitter) handle accused Ribadu of “serious amnesia”, insisting that “Najaatu’s statement is accurate”.
He wrote on X: “POLITICAL UPDATE: Najaatu Mohammed vs. Nuhu Ribadu – Nuhu must have serious amnesia.
“Najaatu’s statement is accurate.
“The record of proceedings in the Senate will confirm that Nuhu made those statements, sometime in 2006.
“The subsequent Daily Trust report below of February 2007, reconfirms the essence of the statements.
“The conclusions of the Federal Executive Council in 2006, which can be subpoenaed from the Cabinet Secretariat of the SGF’s office contain the allegations.
“In that Special FEC meeting in which I was a member, Nuhu’s EFCC made similar presentations accusing many sitting officials, sometime in 2006.
“These Council Conclusions will further remove all doubts.
“This is for the record and to remind the morally-flexible that at some point in our national life, silence is no longer golden.”
Ribadu, in a letter by his lawyer, Dr Ahmed Raji, SAN, denied ever describing the President as corrupt.
Ribadu’s letter dated February 4, 2025, and signed by Dr. Raji, Ribadu said the assertion of Najatu Muhammad in a TikTok video brought him to public ridicule, opprobrium, scorn and shame.
The letter by his lawyer reads: “Clearly, in the text of your recording [reproduced and translated above] you stated that when our client served as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes, [EFCC] he allegedly named President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, alongside Sen. George Akume and Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu [all former Governors, and in that order] as the governors in Nigeria who stole the most from public treasury.
“You also stated that today, our client who once held the above odious view about President Tinubu has turned around to be his staunchest defender; especially, with regard to what you stated to be the government’s agenda to silence voices of dissent to the government, citing the alleged arrest of a certain Prof. Usman Yusuf as an example.
“You also stated that our client’s alleged attitudinal change towards President Tinubu means that he has either become a liar or that he lied when he allegedly described President Tinubu, Sen. Akume, Sen. Kalu and other governors as thieves.
“Privately or publicly, our client has never expressed the above viewpoint about President Tinubu and/or Senators George Akume and Orji Uzor Kalu, which you attributed to him.
“In fact, our client has never held such a viewpoint about the President; hence, it came as a complete surprise to him when his attention was drawn to the aforesaid publication by you against him.
“In the foregoing premise, our client hereby challenges you to provide evidence of your allegations therein against him; which have cast him as double-faced, duplicitous and deceitful in the eyes of right-thinking members of the society.
“Although masked as a clarion call to the North to rise up to your perceived injustice against the North by the government of the day, your publication is also inciteful of violence towards our client. Given this far-reaching ramification of your publication, our client will not sit back and watch his hard-earned reputation and goodwill destroyed by your malicious decision to not only lay false allegations against him, but also, to cause the same to be published for the world’s attention.
“Your intention to bring our client to public ridicule, opprobrium, scorn and shame etc., is laid bare when it is considered that you deliberately caused same to be published on social media, where it has since gone viral.
“Surely, the damage occasioned to our client by your deliberate but ill-advised action is unquantifiable. However, our client will be assuaged if you retract the said publication and tender an unreserved public apology to him in at least 5 [five] national daily newspapers within 7 [seven] days of receipt of this letter. If not, we have our client’s further instructions to seek redress against you in a court of law where exemplary damages will be claimed against you. Kindly be advised.”
In a social media response in Hausa language, Ms Mohammed was quoted as saying she would not retract or apologise.
Translated, her words were: “What did I do to him that I need to apologise? Have you ever seen where someone tells the truth and then retracts their comment? I stand by all I said. I’m begging Nuhu Ribadu, by God, to take me to the highest court in Nigeria. Is it not Tinubu’s court? Let him take me there. I stand by my words….
“What I said was what Nuhu Ribadu himself said, and the comment is still on YouTube. Let those interested search for it. Nuhu Ribadu said with his own mouth when he was EFCC Chairman that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was among the most corrupt individuals.
“He also said that among the governors in Nigeria, Tinubu led in corruption. The comment is still there on YouTube. Therefore, I will not retract my statement because I only repeated what he once said.
“What is the lie here? That he is now prostrating for Tinubu? What is he doing as NSA? He is doing nothing other than instigating Tinubu just to remain in office. I have not retracted, and I will not retract. Let him take me to court. Let’s meet in court.
“Just because the statement was made years back doesn’t mean it should be forgotten. There’s no difference between then and now. Has he retracted his comment against Tinubu? That’s what we want to know. Did he lie against Tinubu when he mentioned Tinubu, Akume, and Orji Kalu?
“He should be the one to come out and tell Nigerians whether he lied against them. I stand by what I said. Just because he made the comment in the past doesn’t mean we should forget it. What has changed?”
