Godfrey Gaiya, former chairman of the House of Representatives committee on sport and newly appointed aide to Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, called former Governor Nasir El-Rufai a devil incarnate who stealthily sponsored genocide against the ingenious population of Southern Kaduna during his eight-year rule. 

Mr Gaiya declared that the ex-governor “is gone and he is going down as a very wicked man who deserves no pity.”

Further excoriating the former Kaduna governor, Mr Gaiya stated, “That man doesn’t know God. He is devil’s (sic) incarnate. I have no fear, and I am ready t buried alive, but it won’t stop me from saying the truth. We have seen the worst things under that man. He gave us hell and received it for eight years.”

In an interview with The Sun newspaper published on Sunday, Mr Gaiya accused the former governor of trying to annihilate the predominantly Christian population of Southern Kaduna. 

“We are happy and lucky that he did not wipe out Southern Kaduna from the face of the earth as he desired and planned. His wish was that we disappear, but we are still waxing stronger. …If he had had his way, we would have been annihilated totally,” he said. 

Mr Gaiya added, “That man is not a human being and thank God for the word former now attached to him. He came with devilish agenda. It is God that rescued us from the eight years of hell we went through, particularly in Southern Kaduna. He had no pity, he was merciless, and he had no fairness. He came with hate agenda against our people. That we are still alive after his eight years is because God is God.” 

On Monday morning, Mr El-Rufai’s spokesman Muyiwa Adekeye did not respond to Peoples Gazette’s request for comments.

Meanwhile, Mr Abbas, who currently employs Mr Gaiya as an adviser on political matters, has disowned Mr Gaiya’s comments as the aide’s personal opinion in a statement on Monday.

The statement was issued by Mr Abbas’ special adviser on media and publicity, Musa Krishi.

“For the record, the said aide, by the name Honourable Godfrey Gaiya did not have the imprimatur of the speaker to grant such an interview. Therefore, the comments made were those of Godfrey Gaiya and not Speaker Tajudeen Abbas,” the statement said. 

Wanton violence has scourged Southern Kaduna for several years, with many accusing Mr El-Rufai of aiding the assailants by often turning a blind eye.