SDP crisis: Court remands El-Rufai’s loyalists over incitement

Ifeyinwa Susan Francis

A magistrate court in  Nasarawa State has remanded five loyalists of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

This deepened the leadership crisis within the Social Democratic Party (SDP).  Amidst accusations of political witch-hunts and false claims.

This was made known by Daily Trust on July 30, 2025

Those remanded on Tuesday pending the hearing of their bail application on Friday include  5 members.

The five are members of the factional National Working Committee (NWC) led by Adamu Abubakar Modibbo. This emerged on July 22, 2025, after they purportedly dissolved the Shehu Gabam-led NWC.

The Modibbo-led faction, aligned with El-Rufai, has vowed to reposition the party ahead of the 2027 elections.

Speaking to Daily Trust, Ambassador Judith Shu’aibu, spokesperson for the Modibbo faction, accused the Gabam-led NWC of orchestrating the arrests.

She said they falsely claimed there was a break-in at the party secretariat. “Police investigated but found no evidence. Anyone can visit the secretariat and see for themselves,” she said.

Shu’aibu called the arrests unlawful and likened them to a “kidnapping.” She said the accused were denied bail and taken to Keffi correctional facility. “Their next court appearance is Friday,” she added.

Ex-gov’s camp ‘unbothered’ by expulsion
The crisis escalated further on Monday when the Gabam-led faction announced the expulsion of El-Rufai from the party and banned him for 30 years—a move dismissed by El-Rufai’s camp as illegitimate.

Malam Ibrahim Husseini, a former commissioner in El-Rufai’s administration, described the expulsion as a joke. “Before Malam joined the SDP, who even heard of them?” he asked.