Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has disclosed that his elder brother, Bashir El-Rufai, was absent from their late mother’s burial rites due to fears of a possible arrest.
He spoke in Abuja on Monday during the third-day Firdau prayer organised for Hajiya Umma El-Rufai, an event attended by relatives, associates and sympathisers in line with Islamic funeral traditions.
El-Rufai explained that the family received information suggesting authorities were planning to detain his brother, leading them to advise him to remain in Cairo, Egypt, while he personally attended the ceremonies.
“My elder brother Bashir El-Rufai couldn’t make it because we learned that there is a plan to arrest him because they believe if they get him, I will negotiate, that was why we ask him to stay in Cairo and I will be present.”
He added that the decision for Bashir to stay back in Egypt was taken before both the funeral and the Firdau prayer, which accounted for his absence at the events.
