He Tweeted That 66 Fulani People Were Killed In Kajuru LG — Maikori Reveals What El-Rufai Did In 2019

Audu Maikori, founder and chairman of Chocolate City Entertainment Group, has publicly criticized former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai over his handling of casualty figures released during the 2019 Kajuru crisis.

Maikori made the comments during an interview on Arise Television on Monday, February 16, 2026, responding to El-Rufai’s statements regarding events that led to Maikori’s 2017 arrest.

During the discussion, Maikori contrasted El-Rufai’s approach in the Kajuru crisis with the handling of official warnings and disputed information. “Let’s juxtapose that with what Mallam El-Rufai did in February 2019,” he said. “He tweeted that 66 Fulani people were killed in Kajuru local government.”

According to Maikori, the accuracy of the figures was immediately questioned by law enforcement and other authorities. “The commissioner of police, Alhaji Ahmad, issued a statement saying these figures had not been verified and advised against spreading them. The governor refused to retract the numbers,” he stated.

Maikori also cited interventions from other national agencies and political figures. “NEMA, the National Emergency Management Agency, also raised concerns. Senator Sani, who was overseeing that region at the time, confirmed that the numbers were unverified and urged caution. Yet the governor ignored these warnings,” he added.

The entertainment executive alleged that the initially reported death toll was later revised upward without any confirmation. “He went on to make another statement claiming that 130 people had died,” Maikori said, questioning the governor’s refusal to correct the record.

Maikori further criticized the government’s response to security authorities’ advisories. “If the commissioner of police warned the governor that these figures were inaccurate, what did he do? He did not retract, he did not apologize,” he said.

Highlighting the consequences of the government’s handling of the situation, Maikori alleged that nine elders from the Adara community were arrested and detained for 143 days in connection with the crisis.

“No retraction, no apologies,” he said, noting that the Kaduna State Attorney General eventually dropped the case due to a lack of evidence.