Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has sparked outrage after threatening to kill a user on X (formerly Twitter) who insulted his mother, Hadiza Isma El-Rufai.
The incident began after Mrs. El-Rufai commented on a travel ban imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump on four African countries, including Nigeria. In her post, she stated, “A great percentage of these Nigerian Americans making us proud abroad are Igbos. There’s always two sides to every story.”
Her tweet received mixed reactions, prompting her to issue another statement:
“No cyberbully can take away my right to express my opinion. Not everything is about politics, but that is something some of you will never understand.”
One user, identified as @jussstice09, responded to her post by saying, “You no go die well ma,” which roughly means, “You won’t die well, ma’am.”
Angered by this comment, Bashir El-Rufai replied in a now-deleted tweet:
“If you ever utter that phrase to my mother again & delete that tweet, I am going to find you (it’s easier than you think) & unalive you and your family.”
Mr. El-Rufai did not respond to media inquiries regarding his threat.
This isn’t the first time he has come under fire for his controversial remarks online. In March, he posted a tweet threatening increased bloodshed in the Christian-majority Southern Kaduna if attacks on Fulani people continued. He later deleted that tweet and issued an apology.
He also previously mocked those calling for justice for Abubakar ‘Dadiyatta’ Idris, a government critic who mysteriously disappeared.
Bashir claimed that Dadiyatta’s disappearance was a deserved consequence for “lying to the public,” and referred to Nigerians advocating for him as “clowns.”
