Human rights lawyer and activist Chidi Odinkalu has alleged that he narrowly escaped abduction in the past, accusing former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai of hypocrisy over recent claims of adherence to due process.
Odinkalu made the allegation on Saturday in a post shared on X, while reacting to what he described as El-Rufai’s emerging public posture as a defender of legality and constitutional order.
Reaction to Airport Incident
The activist’s remarks come amid recent claims by El-Rufai that security operatives attempted to arrest him upon his return from Cairo at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
Responding to the development, Odinkalu argued that the former governor’s current stance contrasts sharply with events he alleged occurred during El-Rufai’s time in office.
“Today, the #VileLittleMan, @elrufai, is an apostle of due process, spreading spittle from studio to studio,” Odinkalu wrote.
He further claimed that he was once saved from an alleged abduction plot by the intervention of a police officer he had never previously met.
“In my case, it was a police officer I had never met who saw what they were cooking up who made the call that almost assuredly saved me from abduction at his hands,” he added.
Renewed Political Tensions
The exchange marks the latest escalation in the ongoing war of words involving El-Rufai and several public figures, as debates intensify over governance, civil liberties, and political accountability in Kaduna State and beyond.
Neither El-Rufai nor his representatives had publicly responded to Odinkalu’s allegation as of press time.
