Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has insisted he does not need police permission to exercise his constitutional right to freedom of association.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, El-Rufai dismissed police claims that last Saturday’s African Democratic Congress (ADC) gathering in Kaduna was disrupted because organisers failed to give prior notice.
“What is proper notification? Under which law, under which section of the Constitution? No one can abridge my right of association. I can give notice if I choose, but it is not a legal or constitutional requirement,” he said.
The former governor accused the Kaduna State Government of sponsoring the attack and claimed police officers deployed to the venue failed to protect citizens.
“These thugs are government-sponsored. Policemen were there, but they stood by. I am submitting a petition to the Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission,” he added.
Suspected thugs armed with cutlasses, clubs, and stones stormed the opposition coalition’s inauguration, attacking participants and vandalising property. The coalition brought together members of the PDP, SDP, NNPP, Labour Party, ADC, and an APC faction opposed to the state leadership.
Police spokesperson DSP Mansir Hassan blamed El-Rufai, alleging he ignored warnings to notify security agencies. He confirmed an investigation into the violence and reported shootings.
El-Rufai condemned the incident as “a dangerous descent into lawlessness” and warned that unchecked political thuggery threatened democracy in Kaduna.