Bashir El-Rufai, son of former governor Nasir El-Rufai, has declared that he will not forgive the All Progressives Congress (APC) over what he described as the party’s attacks on his family.
Bashir said his resolve would remain unchanged even if his father eventually emerges victorious from his ongoing legal ordeal and chooses to forgive those he believes have wronged the family.
In a series of posts on X on Saturday, he vowed to seek political power with the intention of confronting those within the APC whom he accused of turning against his family at its most vulnerable moment.
“Even if my father emerges from his ordeal like Gandhi and forgives and forgets, I won’t,” he wrote.
“I will acquire power somehow for the sole reason of terrorising those (APC) that attacked like wolves upon my family at our weakest. Friend or foe, it won’t matter.”
Bashir, however, made an exception for one of his brothers, Mahmud Ribaud, whom he described as his biological brother.
“Only @mahmudribadu will be spared. That one is my biological brother. Everyone else is fair game,” he stated.
The outburst comes amid an escalating public disagreement between Bashir and his brother, Bello El-Rufai, a member of the House of Representatives representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency.
Bashir has criticised Bello over his political trajectory, particularly his decision to remain in the APC after their father left the party.
Nasir El-Rufai resigned his membership of the APC in March 2025 and subsequently aligned with the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Bello, however, remained in the APC until May 7, 2026, when he defected to the ADC and joined his father in the opposition party.
Bashir accused his brother of prioritising political interests over family loyalty, alleging that Bello only turned to the family after his relationship with Governor Uba Sani deteriorated.
“Stuck with Uba Sani until he realized he is being dumped then suddenly remembered family loyalty and moved to ADC. Where was he since? Purely serving his interest,” Bashir wrote.
The relationship between El-Rufai and Sani, once political allies, deteriorated after Sani succeeded El-Rufai as Kaduna governor in 2023. Their fallout has since spilled into political and legal disputes.
Meanwhile, Nasir El-Rufai has remained in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for about 200 days amid an ongoing corruption case.
The former governor is facing prosecution before the Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations including abuse of office, financial impropriety and fraud allegedly committed while he was governor of Kaduna State. El-Rufai has denied the allegations.
In his latest legal action, the former governor filed a N10 billion suit against the ICPC, its chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation over alleged restrictions on his access to family members while in custody.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026 and filed on August 13 by his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, seeks nine reliefs.
El-Rufai is asking the court to affirm that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution remain enforceable despite his detention.
He also wants the court to declare that the alleged repeated denial of access to his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and son, Abba El-Rufai, particularly for the provision of food, medication and other necessities, violates his constitutional rights.
