Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has made a series of strong allegations against former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, claiming that he once planned to burn down the headquarters of Africa Independent Television (AIT) after being instructed to stop harassing the station.
Fani-Kayode made the claims in a statement released on Sunday, March 15, 2026, where he said he was corroborating earlier assertions made by journalist and publisher Jackson Ude. The former minister’s comments center on events he alleged occurred during El-Rufai’s tenure as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under the administration of former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to Fani-Kayode, tensions between El-Rufai and AIT at the time were rooted in disputes involving land ownership and regulatory actions taken against the media organization. He claimed that El-Rufai attempted to revoke the land titles of the station and allegedly moved to confiscate the property and demolish structures belonging to the broadcaster.
AIT is part of the broadcasting network owned by the late media entrepreneur Raymond Dokpesi, who founded the DAAR Communications Plc. The network has long been one of Nigeria’s most prominent private television stations.
In his statement, Fani-Kayode alleged that the dispute escalated despite the existence of valid court orders preventing certain actions against the media organization. He claimed that El-Rufai allegedly continued to pursue measures against the broadcaster in defiance of those legal directives.
The most dramatic claim in the statement, however, involved an alleged plan to destroy the AIT facility entirely.
According to Fani-Kayode, after El-Rufai was directed by authorities to stop harassing Dokpesi and AIT, he allegedly began considering a plot to burn down the television station’s premises. He claimed the act was intended to be disguised as an electrical fault that would make the destruction appear accidental.
“Worse amongst them is the fact that, after Nasir was directed to desist from harrassing Dokpesi & AIT, he resorted to planning to burn the whole place down!” Fani-Kayode wrote.
weapons.
The former minister further alleged that the plan was eventually halted following the intervention of senior officials within the Obasanjo administration. According to him, key figures including the then Chief of Staff to the President and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) stepped in and prevented the alleged scheme from being carried out.
While the claims have sparked renewed debate on social media and among political observers, there has been no immediate response from El-Rufai regarding the allegations.
Fani-Kayode said he raised the issue as part of broader concerns about recent public statements attributed to the former Kaduna governor. He expressed worry over comments allegedly made by El-Rufai involving Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and claims surrounding the alleged importation of chemical weapons. Read_More…