BELLO El-Rufai one of the sons of Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai has threatened to have a Premium Times’ journalist arrested after a report of him on rape comment.
Premium Times had earlier today published a report titled “Outrage as El-Rufai’s son threatens to gang rape Twitter user’s mother.”
During an argument on Twitter, a user by the handle name @Thanos_zer had blasted the present government, describing President Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged ineptitude as mind blowing.
He described Bello in his tweet as “Daddy boy, saying, “I don’t shield anyone who’s inept. I can’t say the same about you. You’re Daddy’s boy and of course, nobody attacks the finger that feeds them. Buhari’s ineptitude is mind blowing. Yes I said and you’re not going to make me disappear.”
“Tell your mother I’m passing her to my friends tonight,” El-Rufai said to his detractor in a private message after an argument on politics, before adding an ethnic diatribe: “No Igbo sounds please!”
This sparks outrage from many Nigerians on social media against El-Rufai, as anti-rape activists demanded a thorough investigation for probable violation of the Cybercrime Act.
Reacting to the post by Bello, former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili took to her twitter handle, demanding that the Governor’s son retract the comment and apologise.
She wrote, “@B_ELRUFAI Did I just see horrific tweets from your handle threatening gang-rape? What was that?
Why the ethnic vitriol toward Igbos? What’s that, Bello? Too tragic.
“You need to not just immediately apologize for those vile tweets but get into an Anger Management program quickly.”
A Twitter user said, “Bello El-Rufai is clearly from a home where bad behaviour has been overlooked and enabled by parents who should have known better. He should have been reprimanded and trained in his earlier years . Today, he is a spoilt child with no decorum threatening to rape someone’s mother.”
Reacting to her son’s post on Twitter, Hadiza El-Rufai said, “All you people talking about @B_ELRUFAI Don’t @ me. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. All is fair in love and war.
“My belief: Respect everyone, but take no shit from anyone. I didn’t see any threats of rape. I would never condone that.”
This response doesn’t go well with the North Normal Nigeria movement group on sexual violence and hereby issued a statement to question her competence as Chair of Kaduna state sexual assault task force.
“This calls to question her competence to chair a panel seeking to fight sexual assault as the meanings and language of rape and violence is lost on her.
“Consequently we call for her immediate resignation as chair of the Kaduna state sexual assault task force, and a public apology. We also call on all people of good conscience to join us in condemning this behaviour,” the group said in the statement.
Shortly after the release by #NorthNormal movement, Hadiza issued an apology through her Twitter handle saying she’d never condone sexual abuse in any shape or form.
“I can see how my tweet may have come across, and I apologise to those who were offended by it. I say, once again, that I’d never condone sexual abuse in any shape or form,” she tweeted.
Meanwhile, Bello has refused to apologise, despite the fact that Nigerians are calling for his apology, he however threatened a Premium Times journalist, Samuel Ogundipe through his Twitter handle for his rape criticism report.
Bello wrote on Twitter, “Oh @SamuelOgundipe, our hired PDP columnist, you in particular were the last piece of the puzzle. I assure you that my lawyers will get to you to prove the usage/threat of rape. The onus is on you. I eagerly anticipate the #FreeSamuel hashtag. Thanks for completing the jigsaw.
Abeeb Alawiye formerly works with The ICIR as a Reporter/Social Media officer. Now work as a Senior Journalist with BBC News Yoruba. You can shoot him an email via [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @habsonfloww
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