…Ribadu asks him to submit evidence
Abuja, Nigeria — Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai has escalated tensions with the federal security establishment after revealing in a post on his verified X account that he formally wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser seeking clarification over “reports about the importation… of thallium sulphate, a very dangerous toxin.”
Abuja, Nigeria — Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai has escalated tensions with the federal security establishment after revealing in a post on his verified X account that he formally wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser seeking clarification over “reports about the importation… of thallium sulphate, a very dangerous toxin.”
In his statement, El-Rufai framed the move as a civic obligation. “As part of my duty as a citizen, I wrote to the NSA to seek clarification… It’s a matter of concern if anyone brings in any poison, more so an odourless, colourless one,” he wrote.
Though couched as a request for clarification, the wording of El-Rufai’s post carries a strong insinuation: that the Office of the National Security Adviser may have imported a highly toxic substance under questionable circumstances.
By emphasising that thallium sulphate is “odourless” and “colourless,” he appears to suggest potential covert or malicious use, without presenting documentary evidence or specifying the context in which the chemical was allegedly procured.
Thallium sulphate is internationally known as a highly toxic compound historically used in rodenticides and subject to strict regulation in many jurisdictions. Its reference in a political dispute, particularly involving a national security office, inevitably raises public anxiety.
El-Rufai’s latest post comes amid heightened friction between him and federal authorities, including recent interactions with anti-corruption agencies. Against that backdrop, the allegation, or implied allegation, adds a new and potentially explosive dimension to an already tense relationship.
Meanwhile, according to a report by TheCable, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu has reportedly asked el-Rufai to submit evidence of the alleged procurement of thalium sulphate to the Department of State Services (DSS).
