Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has insisted that he does not require police permission to exercise his constitutional right to freedom of association.
El-Rufai, who was a guest on Channels Television’s political programme Sunday Politics, dismissed claims by security authorities that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) gathering in Kaduna was disrupted because organisers failed to notify the police.
What is proper notification? Under which law, under which section of the Constitution? No one can abridge my right of association; no one can ask me to give any notice. I can give if I choose, but it is not a legal or constitutional requirement, he said on Sunday.
The former governor added, People should stop overreaching themselves just because they hold a position today. I was governor of that state for eight years, and never at any time did I stop any opposition party from holding meetings or instruct venues not to allow political gatherings.
Nasir El-Rufai on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, August 31, 2025. El-Rufai accused the Kaduna State Government of sponsoring the attack and alleged that police officers deployed to the scene did nothing to protect citizens.
These thugs are government-sponsored. We used to have policemen; now we have shadows of policemen. They were there, and I am submitting a petition to the Inspector General of Police as well as the Police Service Commission.
When law enforcement agents are used to facilitate and protect those who engage in violence, then we are on our way to the total destruction of everything we stand for in this country, he said.
On Saturday, suspected thugs disrupted the inauguration of the transition committee members of a coalition of opposition parties under the ADC in Kaduna State.
The assailants, armed with cutlasses, clubs, and stones, attacked participants and vandalised property.
A former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who attended the event, condemned the attack.
The coalition brought together members of an All Progressives Congress (APC) faction opposed to the state leadership, alongside the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Labour Party (LP), and the ADC.
Despite the violence, the inauguration continued under tense conditions. The Kaduna State Police Command, however, blamed El-Rufai for the incident.
Its spokesperson, DSP Mansir Hassan, said the former governor failed to notify the police and other security agencies about the meeting, despite repeated warnings.
Hassan said an investigation had commenced into the alleged political violence and the reported shooting incidents involving thugs at the gathering.
El-Rufai, reacting to the police stance, described the incident as a dangerous descent into lawlessness and warned that political thuggery in the state must be stopped.
He further alleged that senior police officers at the venue, stood by and watched as the violence unfolded.
