El-Rufai's Son's Gangrape Threats on Twitter Spark Outrage

Following a heated episode of arguments on Twitter, on Sunday evening, Governor El-Rufai's son publicly threatened to gang rape a senior citizen. Bello El-Rufai, one of the sons of the Kaduna governor, issued the threat in a private message to a Twitter user following arguments about politics.

“Tell your mother I’m passing her to my friends tonight,” Mr El-Rufai said to his detractor, before adding an ethnic diatribe: “No Igbo sounds please!”

The message, which was sent at 10:21 a.m. Sunday, quickly sparked outrage after it was made public by its recipient about an hour later.

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Many Nigerians on social media have expressed outrage at Mr El-Rufai, while anti-rape activists demanded a thorough investigation for probable violation of the Cybercrime Act.

Mr El-Rufai, however, dismissed calls, including those from ex-minister Oby Ezekwesili, for him to apologise throughout Sunday. He claimed, without evidence that he was returning an insult earlier lobbed at his father. His defiance continued even as his mother, Hadiza El-Rufai, was being prodded to denounce her son’s call to violence.

The said argument ensued after a Twitter user, @thanos_zer, criticised a tweet posted the previous night by Mr El-Rufai as hypocritical.

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“There is nothing as radioactive as an incompetent leader during a time of crisis,” Mr El-Rufai tweeted after 8:00 p.m. on Saturday. “The United States of America is a case in point. A few states in Nigeria too.”

This prompted @thanos_zer to reply with a question about President Buhari who has been criticised as an “absentee” leader due to his infrequent public appearances.

“How about the absentee president in Nigeria?” @thanos_zer wrote.

Mr El-Rufai responded to this by saying he was sure that @thanos_zer would be from the South-east and his state governor would be grossly incompetent.

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Again, @thanos_zer responded, saying: “I don’t shield anyone who’s inept. I can’t say the same about you. You’re daddy’s boy and of course nobody attacks the finger that feeds them. Buhari’s ineptitude is mind-blowing. Yes I said it and you’re not going to make me disappear!”

Subsequently, Mr El-Rufai rained a barrage of insults at his detractor. In one tweet before 11:00 a.m. Sunday, he posted sexual innuendos against @thanos_zer’s mother, saying he was aware of her “mind blowing” sexual capabilities.

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In another tirade laced with sexual vulgarity, Mr El-Rufai tweeted at 11:02 a.m. that he had also learnt of sexual exploits of @thanos_zer’s grandmother.

About an hour after the public disagreement ended, @thanos_zer posted a screenshot that contained a threat which Mr El-Rufai sent to him as a private message.

"This was what El Rufai's son sent before blocking me.

I'm not even Igbo and none of what he said got to me. He can't call Buhari out for his ineptitude yet he's calling trump names?

Did he vote Trump?@ayabie_ikem @MobilePunch @Alaye_100 @HAHayatu @AishaYesufu pic.twitter.com/jLsfCsw0Cz

— consigliere (@thanos_zer) April 12, 2020

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When tagged on Twitter concerning her son's posts, Mrs El-Rufai declined to categorically denounce her son’s vulgar statements, brushing aside the torrent of social media admonition demanding for her to do so.

She replied, All you people talking about @B_ELRUFAI Don’t @ me. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. All is fair in love and war. My belief: Respect everyone, but take no shit from anyone. I didn't see any threats of rape. I would never condone that."

"Responding to insults on twitter is fair. I stand by that. I had not gone through the tweets because it’s really none of my business, so didn't know the details. He’s an adult not a child, after all."

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Anti-rape campaigners have since expressed their displeasure at Mr El-Rufai’s comments, with claims that they were even more enraged that he dug his heels in.

“Bello El-Rufai should be thoroughly prosecuted if Nigeria is serious about stemming the tide of gender-based violence,” Ugo Ikeakor, an anti-rape activist in Lagos said. “He should be penalised to serve as a much-needed deterrence against unending attacks on our women.”

Mr Ikeakor said men, especially those from privileged backgrounds, should be sensitive to the protection of women.

“They should know they are there to protect women and children against violence so that they can set a lasting example, not to continue the cycle of violence that has kept us underdeveloped for decades,” he said.

According to other activists, the statements by Mr El-Rufai underscored an entrenched culture of women victimisation in Nigeria. The activists said Sundays incident would further bolster women’s determination to rid the Nigerian society of the spectre of gender-based violence. They also decried Mrs El-Rufai’s reluctance to take the matter seriously, saying she missed an opportunity to stand as a voice for women’s rights even in a tough or awkward situation.

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