IT emerged at the weekend that the Federal Government has placed a consular ban on the duo of Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai and the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in all Nigerian embassies across the world.
The ban is to ensure that none of them is able to travel about with his Nigerian passport to facilitate what is considered their seeming unpalatable activities against the Nigerian government abroad.
Sources within government said that the Federal authorities considered recent activities of Mallam el-Rufai and his alter ego, Nuhu Ribadu as offensive and unacceptable to the government in Nigeria.
The decision was therefore taken that the duo be denied new passports and any other consular assistance where needed to stop them from carrying out their negative campaigns against the government.
The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) are said to be coordinating the ban placed on the duo. A letter from the permanent secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Joe Keshi dated September 17, 2009 indicated that the duo have to be stopped from continuing their alleged campaign of calumny against the Nigerian government.
The communication, which was directed to all Nigerian Missions abroad specifically warned that the duo should not be allowed to enjoy any consular assistance which could facilitate such campaign against the Nigerian government.
The communication indicated that el-Rufai should not be issued a new passport following his application to the Nigerian Mission in the United Kingdom for another passport when he exhausted the visa pages of his current passport.
The stern warnings contained in the letter by the permanent secretary were said to have ensured the cat and mouse displays between el-Rufai and the Nigerian Mission in the UK over the passport renewal saga.
The former minister of the Federal Capital Territory had approached the Nigerian Mission for renewal of his passport only to be turned down by embassy officials.
The Nigerian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Senator Dahaltu Tafida was quoted as telling a Nigerian newspaper that the former minister’s denial of passport was due to his impatience, adding that el-Rufai should learn to follow the procedure.
But correspondences between the Nigerian authorities and the embassies indicate that a direct order has been issued to henceforth deny el-Rufai and Nuhu Ribadu consular assistance by Nigerian Missions.
The directive from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that the Nigerian Mission in the UK should not issue el-Rufai with another passport so as to stop him from further undermining Nigerian image abroad.
A similar directive from the NIA was also very clear on the fate of the duo of el-Rufai and Ribadu.
The directive indicates that the decision has been taken at the highest level of government to ensure that none of the embassies abroad offer consular assistance to either the former minister or the former EFCC chairman.
The directive said that the government has noticed the “continuous and unyielding campaign of calumny” against the Nigerian government by the duo of Mallam el-Rufai and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
The duo of the former minister and the fomer EFCC boss have been having running battles with the administration of President Umaru Yar’Adua since the change of baton in 2007.
While el-Rufai was recently denied the renewal of his passport, the government has placed Ribadu on trial at the code of Conduct Tribunal over asset declaration forms.
The former EFCC boss early in September sneaked into the country to pay his respects to the late human rights crusader, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, who died on September 5.