Amid reports that the United States Government has placed a visa restriction on Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, at least 7,000 people have signed a petition calling on the United Kingdom and the European Union to follow suit.
The petition, which was initiated by a former Presidential aide, Reno Omokri, on Tuesday, was addressed to the UK Parliament, the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson; Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.
Omokri, who initiated the petition, accused el-Rufai of being a threat to the peace and security of Nigeria for many reasons.
He noted that on December 3, 2016, the governor admitted that he paid herdsmen who had been accused of killing several persons.
Omokri said “Since that admission, there has been an intense escalation of the killings of mostly Christians in Kaduna, and on August 25, 2020, suspected herdsmen abducted seven schoolchildren and their teacher from Prince Academy, in Kaduna. They have not been seen or heard of since then. On February 6, 2019, he threatened foreign observers, including observers from the EU and UK with death, warning that they would return in body bags should they intervene in Nigeria. On July 15, 2012, Nasir El-Rufai said, and I quote ‘We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes.’ This threat has been carried out in Southern Kaduna where there is an ongoing genocide of Christians under el-Rufai’s watch. It is for this reason that Nigerian citizens call on the government of the United Kingdom and the European Union Presidency to follow the lead of the United States and place a visa ban on Nasir El-Rufai, who is scheming to become Nigeria’s President, to prevent a Rwandan style genocide in Nigeria,”