Dare Babalola
Nigeria’s ambassador designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, on Wednesday issued a strong warning over recent comments attributed to members of the family of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, describing their reactions to alleged hacking claims as “a mistake.”
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Omokri also criticised what he described as threats directed at the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and remarks targeting the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu.
He wrote, “Threatening the President and insulting the NSA over el-Rufa’i’s self admitted hacking is a mistake. On the issue of the el-Rufa’i family making threats against the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and in particular, one of his sons calling the National Security Adviser a liar, I take particular umbrage with that, and will not stand idly by while this family attempts to revise history.”
Omokri further revisited past allegations involving the former governor, recalling what he described as a 2020 incident in which he accused El-Rufai of sending him an email containing derogatory references to Southern Nigerian women.
“Please fact-check me: In 2020, Nasir El-Rufa’i had sent me an email in which Southern Nigerian women were called cheap ‘whores’,” he wrote, adding that he subsequently published the claim in his Thisday column.
He alleged that shortly after the publication, his email accounts came under sustained hacking attempts, which he claimed were only prevented due to two-factor authentication security measures.
“The fact that this sophisticated attempt at hacking my email accounts came immediately after I exposed Malam Nasir el-Rufa’i’s bigotry was a coincidence that I was not prepared to accept,” he added.
Omokri also referenced legal proceedings involving the former governor, stating that el-Rufai had sued him over the allegations but lost in court.
“So, for Mr El-Rufa’i’s son, I will not take it lying down,” he wrote, while also accusing him of past controversial remarks regarding the disappearance of activist Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata.
He further warned that unlawful phone interception without court approval constitutes a criminal offence, adding that public admissions of such actions could carry legal consequences.
Omokri concluded by cautioning the El-Rufai family to be “less arrogant and more circumspect in their public utterances,” especially in light of what he described as increasing scrutiny and accountability.
