A petition calling on the United Kingdom and the European Union to place a visa restriction on Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai has got over 7,000 signatures in about 24 hours.
Initiated by Mr. Reno Omokri, a former aide to President Goodluck Jonathan, on Tuesday, the petition was addressed to the UK Parliament, the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson; Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.
According to Change.Org, the petition had hit over 7,000 signatures around noon time, Wednesday. In recent months Southern Kaduna has been in the news for herders-farmers crisis and communal clashes with several lives lost.
Omokri, who initiated the petition, accused el-Rufai of being a threat to the peace and security for many reasons. He noted that on December 3, 2016, the governor admitted that he paid herdsmen who had been accused of killing several persons.
“Since that admission, there has been an intense escalation of the killings of mostly Christians in Kaduna, and on August 25, 2020, suspected herdsmen abducted seven schoolchildren and their teacher from Prince Academy, in Kaduna. They have not been seen or heard of since then,” Omokri said.
Omokri, who was a social media aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, said el-Rufai on January 27, 2013, insulted Jesus Christ on Twitter.
The petition further read, “On February 6, 2019, he threatened foreign observers, including observers from the EU and UK with death, warning that they would return in body bags should they intervene in Nigeria.
“On July 15, 2012, Nasir El-Rufai said, and I quote ‘We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes.’ This threat has been carried out in Southern Kaduna where there is an ongoing genocide of Christians under el-Rufai’s watch.”
Omokri said on August 23, 2019, the governor charged the Anglican Bishop of Zaria province of Kaduna, Abiodun Ogunyemi, for defamation.
But in supporters of the Kaduna state governor would have none of those accusations from Omokri, accusing the latter of being part of the last administration that plundered the resources of the country with reckless abandon, thereby throwing Nigeria into a tough economic situation.
The group said: ” Reno Omokri should shut up his mouth. Was he not part an parcel of the last administration that brought us to where we are now? If there is sound economic activities on-going across the country, if there are booming businesses would people think of criminality? Look at rot in the Oil and Gas sector alone, under the last administration in which Omokri served… It will take several years to repair.
” Look at the Power sector with several billions wasted in that sector since 1999 when PDP held power… It will take years to salvage. Let’s focus on how to rebuild Nigeria, how to rebuild Kaduna state. Leave El-Rufai alone…”
