El-Rufai boys, Bashir and Bello tear each other in expletive X rant over family loyalty

Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has launched a scathing attack on his brother, Bello El-Rufai, over his political realignment and relationship with Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani.

Bashir made the remarks in a series of posts on X on Saturday, accusing Bello, a member of the House of Representatives, of putting his political interests ahead of family loyalty.

Bello had remained in the All Progressives Congress (APC) after their father left the party in March 2025. He later defected from the APC to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on May 7, 2026, joining his father in the opposition party.

Reacting to the defection, Bashir accused his brother of remaining aligned with Sani until he allegedly realised that the governor was no longer interested in him.

“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 also accused Bello of remaining neutral while other members of the family criticised Sani, whom their father fell out with after the governor succeeded him in 2023.

Bashir further alleged that Bello had previously asked him to tone down his criticism of Sani, describing his brother as hypocritical and accusing him of putting personal interests ahead of family loyalty.

The exchange escalated as Bashir made several other allegations against Bello, some of which were later deleted. The deleted posts reportedly contained claims about personal matters, including fertility and alleged drug use.

The dispute comes amid legal troubles facing their father, Nasir El-Rufai, who has been in custody since February 2026 over alleged financial impropriety during his tenure as Kaduna governor between 2015 and 2023. He is facing separate proceedings before the Kaduna State High Court and the Federal High Court in Abuja.