Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has accused former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai of treating political power as absolute and using it without restraint.
Lawal made the allegation during an interview from 01:42:52 with SYMFONI on Saturday, July 25, 2026.
He recalled an incident involving a close associate who served as the All Progressives Congress National Vice-Chairman for the North-West.
According to Lawal, the associate had a disagreement with El-Rufai while he was governor of Kaduna State.
Lawal alleged that El-Rufai subsequently ordered the demolition of the man’s house.
He said the property was built on land allocated by the Federal Government and that the owner had valid title documents.
According to the former SGF, the demolition was carried out because of the disagreement and because El-Rufai was governor at the time.
“El-Rufai is somebody that thinks power is absolute and he can deploy it to do anything he wants. One of my friends, who was National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the APC, was in disagreement with El-Rufai. He went to his house and demolished it. That house was on a Federal Government plot which was allocated to him by the Federal Government, and he had the papers; El-Rufai just demolished it because he was a governor,” he said.
Lawal’s comments come as El-Rufai remains in detention over corruption-related charges.
The former governor has been in custody since February 2026 after being arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and later transferred to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
Several court orders have extended his detention, while strict bail conditions have prevented his release.
The ICPC has brought multiple charges against El-Rufai over alleged offences linked to his time as Kaduna governor between 2015 and 2023.
The allegations include abuse of office, fraud, money laundering, questionable severance payments, irregular contracts and the alleged misuse of land.
He is also facing a separate case relating to the alleged interception of telephone communications involving National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
The case followed comments El-Rufai made during an interview on Arise News in February 2026.
El-Rufai has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Court proceedings are continuing as the defence challenges the allegations and prosecutors present their case.