The former Governor of Kaduna State, Mal Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, is a known polygamist. But up to the time he left office as Kaduna State governor in May 2023 – after serving two terms that started in 2015 – El-Rufai was known to have three wives, namely Hadiza Isma El-Rufai, Asia Ahmad El-Rufai, and Ummi Garba El-Rufai.
Photos of El-Rufai and the three wives listed above can be found on several social media sites.
However, a post on El-Rufai’s social media handles (particularly Facebook and X, formerly Twitter) on April 6, 2025 suggested that he now has a fourth wife. Her name also suggests she comes from one the French-speaking countries in West Africa, most likely Niger or Cameroon.
The post reads: “SPECIAL BIRTHDAY PRAYER: Please join me in wishing my dear wife, Aichatou Assabe El-Rufai a very happy and blissful birthday, today the 6th of April. May the rest of her life be the best of her life. May Allah reward her for her patience, loyalty and service to our family.”
The post, which attracted more than 5,000 comments, 21,000 likes and over 300 shares as of April 8, 2025, has now become a revelation to many, with some asking: when did it (the wedding) take place? Is Malam now married to four wives? Etc.
As a Muslim, El-Rufai can have up to four wives at the same time. Indeed, his very close friend, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who is now the 16th Emir of Kano, has four wives.
Dateline Nigeria reports that the lady unveiled by El-Rufai as his “Dear Wife” has been his friend on social media for years, posting his images as her profile picture and retweeting his tweets on X, for many years. In fact, in the last two years, she has posted or retweeted several that the present Governor of Kaduna State Uba Sani and his supporters will find offensive.
In the last days of his second and final term as Kaduna governor, there were rumours that El-Rufai was taking another wife in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). But there was no evidence presented at the time. One of the requirements for a valid marriage in Islam, is the presence of competent witnesses.
Also, despite her several posts on El-Rufai, however, a picture of Aichatou and the former Kaduna Governor first appeared on her X page (@AAD_EL_Rufai) on November 29, 2023 with the following words “A’oodhu-bi kalimaa-tillaah-hit taam’mati min sharri ma-khalaq [I seek protection in the perfect words of Allah from every evil that He has created]”. This many believe may be the time their union was solemnised.
Curiously, as of the time of publishing this piece, a Wikipedia entry on El-Rufai, which has since been updated to reflect his exit from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has yet to list Aichatou Assabe El-Rufai as the wife of the former governor of Kaduna State
