•Embattled former Governor Nasir El-Rufai and ICPC operative
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned the continued detention of former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
The condemnation followed reports that authorities denied him access to his doctors and prevented his wife from delivering food to him in custody, reports Daily Trust.
ICPC has since denied the allegation, saying the wife served him meals twice on the day she claimed she was blocked.
John Odey, Deputy Director and Head of Media and Public Communications, ICPC, maintained that El-Rufai’s wife returned there for the third time but arrived about 30 minutes after the official visiting time ended.
Odey said there was the need to provide accurate information and correct misleading narratives circulating since Friday regarding the ICPC’s Access Control Protocol.
But National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of using state institutions to silence opposition voices, describing El-Rufai as a “political prisoner.”
The ADC argued that despite voluntarily submitting himself to authorities, El-Rufai has faced prolonged detention and repeated court appearances, unlike other high-profile corruption suspects such as Yahaya Bello and Ifeanyi Okowa and warned that “President Tinubu should be held responsible for any deterioration in his condition.”
Part of the statement said, ADC is “deeply concerned about the continued detention of Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai and his deteriorating health condition, following reports from his family alleging denial of medical access, restriction of food delivery, and disregard for a court order granting him access to his doctors.
“These reports, if true, represent a dangerous assault on his dignity, health, and constitutional rights.”
The coalition party said, what is happening to El-Rufai confirmed beyond all doubt that this detention is no longer about justice, “it is about politics. It also confirms our fears that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is deploying the instruments of state power to keep one of the leading opposition figures out of circulation. This is political persecution dressed up as prosecution.”
The opposition party argued that when the situation of El-Rufai is placed beside other high-profile cases, “the contrast becomes stark and shameful. Yahaya Bello, former Governor of Kogi State, has been accused in an alleged N80.2 billion money laundering case. Ifeanyi Okowa, former Governor of Delta State, was arrested over the alleged diversion of N1.3 trillion in derivation funds. But today, they are walking around free, singing President Tinubu’s campaign song.
“El-Rufai was first detained in February after he voluntarily offered himself for investigation and trial. He was later arraigned after weeks in custody and granted bail in April. Yet, the government has contrived to keep him in detention perpetually.
“We state clearly: Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is President Bola Tinubu’s political prisoner. This alone brings the President’s democratic credentials into disrepute.
“President Tinubu cannot continue to masquerade as a democrat while presiding over the weaponisation of security and anti-corruption agencies against political opponents. Nigeria is not under a dictatorship. Therefore, compliance with the rule of law cannot be subject to presidential discretion.
“The ADC therefore puts President Tinubu, the ICPC, the EFCC, and all relevant security agencies on notice: they will be held responsible for any deterioration in Mallam El-Rufai’s health or any further violation of his rights.
“The African Democratic Congress has put in motion mechanisms, through every lawful means available locally, nationally, continentally, and internationally, to secure the release of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, who, by every practical definition, has become a political prisoner in Nigeria,” the statement said.
