Bashir el-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai, has launched a public attack on his brother, Bello el-Rufai, accusing the federal lawmaker of putting personal political interests ahead of family loyalty during the political rift involving their father and Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani.
Bashir made the allegations in a series of posts on X on Saturday, August 29, 2026, some of which contained strong language and were subsequently deleted.
His comments centred largely on Bello’s political relationship with Sani and his eventual defection from the All Progressives Congress to the African Democratic Congress.
Bello, who represents Kaduna North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, had remained in the APC after his father resigned from the ruling party in March 2025.
Nasir el-Rufai and Sani were once close political allies, but their relationship deteriorated after Sani emerged as Kaduna governor following the 2023 election.
Bello eventually left the APC on May 7, 2026, and joined the ADC, where his father had moved.
Bashir, however, alleged that Bello’s decision to leave the APC only came after he realised that his relationship with Sani was no longer politically beneficial.
“Stuck with Uba Sani until he realised he is being dumped then suddenly remembered family loyalty and moved to ADC. Where was he since? Purely serving his interest,” Bashir wrote.
He further accused his brother of remaining neutral while other members of the family and political associates openly criticised the Kaduna governor.
According to Bashir, Bello had also previously asked him to tone down his criticism of Sani, whom he described as Bello’s former political boss.
Bashir used the dispute to question what he described as his brother’s sudden appeal to family loyalty after defecting from the APC.
“At this stage in my life, I hate nonsense,” he wrote while accusing Bello of hypocrisy.
The disagreement represents an unusually public display of tension within the el-Rufai family, particularly against the backdrop of the political fallout between their father and the Kaduna State administration.
Bashir made several other personal allegations against his brother during the online outburst, some of which were later deleted. Those claims have not been independently substantiated and are not necessary to the underlying political dispute.
As of the time of the report, Bello had not publicly responded to the allegations made by his brother.
The family disagreement comes while their father, Nasir el-Rufai, remains involved in separate legal proceedings arising from allegations connected with his time in office.
The former Kaduna governor has been in custody since February 2026 in connection with investigations into alleged financial impropriety during his administration between 2015 and 2023.
On April 13, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission arraigned him before the Kaduna State High Court on an amended nine-count charge relating to alleged fraud and abuse of office.
He is also facing separate proceedings before the Federal High Court in Abuja involving allegations of wiretapping being prosecuted by the State Security Service.
El-Rufai has not been convicted in either matter, and the allegations against him remain subject to determination by the courts.
.. Bashir El-Rufai Attacks Brother Bello Over Political Loyalty — Accuses Him Of Abandoning Family, Serving Personal Interest … NewsNGR.
