Maikori spoke extensively on Arise TV, responding to El-Rufai’s recent claims about Maikori’s 2017 arrest and a controversial tweet relating to killings in Kaduna.
A music executive and civil rights campaigner Audu Maikori, Founder and Chairman of Chocolate City Entertainment Group, has launched a counterattack against former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, accusing him of hypocrisy, abuse of power and presiding over “one of the most tyrannical leaderships in the history of Kaduna State.”
Maikori spoke extensively on Arise TV, responding to El-Rufai’s recent claims about Maikori’s 2017 arrest and a controversial tweet relating to killings in Kaduna.
El-Rufai had told Arise TV that Maikori published false information capable of triggering communal violence and refused to retract it when contacted by government officials.
According to El-Rufai, “Audu posted that and we called him. We said, ‘Look, Audu, you tweeted this thing, it’s false. Where did you hear this from?’ He stood by his story. So what would you do as a government?”
But Maikori flatly rejected that narrative. “It is about setting the record straight and the facts straight,” he said.
“Governor, ex-governor El-Rufai has a penchant for recreating stories. Everything that he said is untrue.”
Maikori explained that once he discovered the information was incorrect, he immediately took responsibility.
“The minute I found the tweet was wrong, I went to the first police station available in Lekki with my driver,” he said. “The driver actually wrote a confession that he lied to obtain money from me.”
He added that his first call was to Kaduna State’s then Attorney General, Amina Sijuade. “I said, ‘I just discovered that my driver lied to me. He’s in the police station, in full custody. I’m going to write a full retraction.’ That retraction was written on February 4, 2017.”
When asked if the retraction was published, Maikori replied, “Very well published. You can Google it. I apologised not only to the governor but to every other person involved.”
However, he contrasted his actions with El-Rufai’s conduct in February 2019, when the former governor announced figures of Fulani deaths in Kajuru.
“The commissioner of police said the facts had not been verified. NEMA warned against spreading the figures. Shehu Sani also cautioned him,” Maikori said. “El-Rufai refused. He went from 66 to 130 deaths. No retraction. No apology.”
Instead, Maikori alleged, “Nine Adara elders were arrested and jailed for 143 days. No bail. No charge. The attorney general later dropped the case for lack of evidence.”
On his own arrest, Maikori insisted the issue was persecution, not prosecution. “A governor doesn’t do the job of the police,” he said.
“The police investigated and released me. Then he came back and organized for me to be abducted. That is why the court fined him ₦40million. It was unlawful.”
Responding to questions about El-Rufai’s recent complaints of unfair treatment, Maikori invoked a legal maxim: “He who comes to equity must come with clean hands. It is ironic that the person who oversaw one of the most tyrannical leaderships in Kaduna is now complaining about the same system he used for his personal war.”
He cited other cases, including prolonged detentions, intimidation of lawyers, demolitions and killings. “This is not about Audu Maikori,” he said. “It is about El-Rufai’s style of leadership.”
Maikori also compared El-Rufai’s tenure with that of current governor Uba Sani. “In two and a half years, Kaduna has changed totally,” he said. “Leadership is not about talk; it’s about walk.”
On politics, Maikori confirmed he is now a member of the All Progressives Congress, noting that El-Rufai was also in the APC at the time of the incident.
He recalled previously supporting the People’s Democratic Party and former President Goodluck Jonathan, but stressed that the matter transcends party lines.
“The Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal ruled the arrest illegal,” Maikori said, adding that El-Rufai personally pushed the case to the Supreme Court, where it remains pending. “When we win, the damages will support journalists and people who cannot afford legal representation.”
He added, “Nigeria deserves better leadership. Power is a trust, not a weapon. You cannot abuse it and then change jerseys when it becomes inconvenient. We must keep calling these people out.”
