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By 247ureports Correspondent Abuja — Saturday, August 29, 2026
A bitter and deeply personal feud has broken out within the family of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, after his son, Bashir el-Rufai, unleashed a series of explosive, expletive-laden posts on X (formerly Twitter) targeting his elder brother, Bello el-Rufai, the federal lawmaker representing Kaduna North in the House of Representatives.
The public confrontation, which played out over several hours on Saturday, has exposed simmering tensions inside one of Nigeria’s most prominent political families at a time when the family patriarch remains in legal jeopardy.
How the Feud Erupted
The dispute centred on Bello’s political conduct in recent months. According to Bashir’s posts, his brother remained aligned with Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani — their father’s successor and a man who has become estranged from the el-Rufai family politically — long after their father resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in March 2025 to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Bashir accused Bello of only distancing himself from Sani once it became clear the governor was cutting him loose, and of invoking family loyalty at that point purely out of self-interest. Bello did not defect to the ADC until May 7, 2026, more than a year after their father’s own departure from the APC.
Responding to an X user who pressed him on the allegation, Bashir doubled down rather than retract it, insisting the accusation was squarely directed at his brother’s conduct.
Personal Allegations Escalate
What began as a political disagreement quickly descended into a much more personal and volatile exchange. Bashir accused Bello of habitual cocaine and alcohol use, making the allegation in graphic terms across multiple posts and describing his brother as unfit to represent his constituency. He also mocked Bello over his family life, referencing his brother’s use of IVF to conceive children.
Bello el-Rufai has not issued any public response to the allegations, which remain unverified.
“Told to Kill Myself” — Bashir’s Most Alarming Claim
Among the most striking claims in the exchange, Bashir alleged that Bello had told him to kill himself during their dispute. In an angry retort, Bashir suggested his brother should “prove he was serious” by harming his own daughter first, before he would take the remark seriously — a comment widely condemned as inflammatory even by the standards of the ongoing spat.
It was in this same charged exchange that Bashir made the now widely reported remark that he keeps guns and knives at his bedside, a statement many observers interpreted as a defiant response to being told to end his own life, though its precise intent remains open to interpretation.
Bashir went further, warning his brother not to confront him directly and declaring that a physical clash between them would end fatally for his sibling, not for himself. It remains unclear whether the remark was meant literally or was simply heated rhetoric in the midst of a public family row.
Deletions and Damage Control
Several of Bashir’s original posts, including some of the most inflammatory ones, were later deleted from his X account. However, screenshots and reports of the exchange had already circulated widely across Nigerian social media and were picked up by multiple national news outlets before the deletions took place.
This is not the first time Bashir el-Rufai’s social media conduct has drawn scrutiny. Earlier in 2025, he issued a public apology after a separate post relating to violence in Southern Kaduna sparked outrage and was condemned as insensitive.
Backdrop: A Family Under Pressure
The sibling clash comes against the backdrop of serious legal troubles facing their father. Nasir el-Rufai has spent close to 200 days in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), facing charges of alleged corrupt practices and abuse of office at both the Federal and Kaduna State High Courts. He is separately facing a wiretapping-related charge brought by the Department of State Services (DSS) at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Nasir el-Rufai’s political relationship with his one-time protégé and successor, Uba Sani, has also deteriorated sharply since Sani assumed office as Kaduna State governor in 2023, a rift that appears to have filtered down into his sons’ public disagreement.
In a separate post earlier in the week, Bashir vowed never to forgive the APC for what he described as its treatment of his family during its most vulnerable period, declaring an intention to seek political influence to confront those he holds responsible — friend or foe.
What Happens Next
As of the time of this report, Bello el-Rufai had not responded publicly to any of the allegations levelled against him by his brother, and there has been no comment from Nasir el-Rufai or other family members. Observers say the unusually public and personal nature of the exchange marks a rare and striking breakdown of unity within a family long known for presenting a united political front.
247ureports will continue to monitor the story and provide updates as they develop.
