Nigeria governor's wife in Twitter storm over killings

The wife of Nigeria's Kaduna state governor is under criticism for not using her influence to speak out against last week killings in the southern part of the state.

Hadiza Isma el-Rufai tweeted that although she was married to the governor, Nasiru el-Rufai, she had taken no oath of office and was not a "first lady".

About 14 people were killed by gunmen in a village in the state last week - the latest of a series of attacks that have left dozens dead this year.

The topic began trending on Twitter in Nigeria on Wednesday when the governor's wife celebrated the fact that she now had 80,000 followers.

She was then questioned by some about why she did not use her influence on Twitter to call for an end to the killings.

She replied with a tweet that has been shared widely, saying she uses the social media platform for "language, humour and other light-hearted issues".

"I don't tweet about serious matters like governance and politics. Though I'm married to a governor I'm not part of government."

Did any of you see “First Lady” in my bio?

My TL is for language, humour and other light-hearted issues. I don’t tweet about serious matters like governance and politics. Though I’m married to a governor I’m not a part of government. I swore no oath.

— Hadiza Isma El-Rufai (@hadizel) May 28, 2020

Here are some of the reactions she received:

"So, everyone speaking up swore an oath or are related to the government! What happened to humanity? What happened to caring for others... What happened to a mother's heart... What happened to being a citizen of this country Sorry, but its a pity!" Chineze tweeted.

“'Though I’m married to a governor I’m not part of a government'... But did u campaign for your husband to win the election ma? And when you were doing that what exactly was at the back of your mind?" Praise tweeted.

"She has her opinion about the killings in southern Kaduna and I'm sure she is not happy about the loss of lives and if she chooses not to share what she feels with you on social media it is her right," Tijjani Ibrahim tweeted.