El-Rufai’s cousin, Zainab, dies after prolonged sickle-cell battle

Nasir el-Rufai, former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) who lost one of his daughters three years ago, is bereaved again.

On Sunday, April 20, 2014, Zainab el-Rufai, his cousin, died of sickle cell anaemia.

“This morning, our daughter Zainab el-Rufai Mohammed, died from complications related to sickle cell anaemia,” read a statement on his account on social networking site, Twitter.

“May her sweet, gentle and innocent soul rest in perfect peace. May Allah give us all — her family and friends — the fortitude to bear this sudden loss.”

The family prayed that Aljannah Firdaus will be her final abode, and lamented its recent losses.

“In the last few years, we have lost among others, her sister Farida, her niece Yasmin and her uncle Ibrahim.

“May all of them meet in Ajannah as we await our call to join them, Amin.”

The late Zainab graduated from the University of Abuja with a B.Sc. in Political Science, and she is survived by a son and husband.

In November 2011, el-Rufai lost Yasmin, his eldest daughter, following an epileptic seizure at her flat in London.

Described by her mother Hadiza as “an avid reader and an excellent amateur literary critic,” Yasmin was rounding off her Master’s degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and pursuing her law conversion at BPP University, London, at the time of her death.