By Ghazali Ibrahim
The sons of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, have returned to the centre of social media controversy after Bashir El-Rufai launched a scathing attack on his younger brother, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai.
Bashir, in a series of posts on X on Saturday, accused Bello, a member of the House of Representatives, of abusing cocaine and alcohol, while also making disparaging comments about his appearance.
“I have a useless excuse for a brother, with his bony ass face coated with an unknown white substance around his nostrils every night,” Bashir wrote.
“That is your Member in the House, representing a whole populace, but prefers alcohol and cocaine. Yes, you.”
The post, published early Saturday, quickly attracted attention online, with Bashir subsequently warning his brother to stay out of his affairs.
“I have warned you. Stay the f**k away from my affairs. Jika hanta ko Jika bura that’s your business. Fool at 38,” he wrote in another post.
He also told users to tag the person he was referring to, adding that he had blocked him.
Bashir’s accusations against Bello, however, have not been independently verified, and Bello had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of reporting.
The latest clash is not the first time the El-Rufai brothers have generated controversy over their conduct and exchanges online.
In December 2025, both brothers were involved in a widely reported X altercation that began with a political argument over alleged selective enforcement of corruption cases.
Bashir entered the argument and exchanged insults with an X user before Bello joined the confrontation.
The exchange eventually descended into personal attacks, references to family members and threats.
That episode followed several earlier controversies involving the brothers and their outspoken presence on social media.
In July 2024, for instance, Bashir and Bello jointly criticised journalist Sam Omatseye over a post concerning their father.
The brothers have also often taken different positions on political issues surrounding their father and Kaduna State.
In 2024, Bashir criticised Governor Uba Sani over the debt inherited from the El-Rufai administration, while Bello took a different position, publicly disagreeing with his brother.
The latest episode therefore marks a more personal turn, with Bashir directly targeting his brother and making serious allegations about his alleged lifestyle.
Bello, who represents Kaduna North Federal Constituency, recently left the APC for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), where he secured the party’s ticket to seek re-election in 2027.
For now, the social media exchange remains one-sided, with the allegations coming from Bashir.
