Kaduna Terror Survivors Seek Inquiry Into Alleged Abuses During El-Rufai Years

By: Oluwaseun Lawal

They say the pain did not end when the headlines faded.

A group identifying itself as the Coalition of Terror Victims in Kaduna State has asked for a full-scale investigation into alleged human rights violations said to have occurred during the eight years Nasir El-Rufai governed the state, from 2015 to 2023.

In a statement released to journalists in Jos and endorsed by several human rights advocates — including former National Human Rights Commission chairman Chidi Odinkalu — the coalition said many families are still living with trauma. Still waiting, too.

The signatories described years marked by fear and uncertainty. They alleged cases of arbitrary arrests, intimidation of critics, and demolitions that left households displaced. According to them, justice has remained distant.

“We speak as representatives of countless individuals and communities who endured hardship and loss,” the statement read, portraying a period they say was heavy with tension.

The coalition says its membership cuts across society — community leaders, professionals, traditional rulers, faith figures, even retired public servants. Not activists alone, they stressed. Ordinary people.

They have called on law enforcement agencies and human rights bodies to initiate an independent probe. Testimonies and documentation, they added, are ready to be presented if formal inquiries begin.

For the victims, this is not politics, they insist. It is accountability. And closure, if possible.