Atiku Asks Tinubu, Uba Sani To Release El-Rufai

By Adesina Soyooye

Presidential hopeful under the African Democratic Congress, ADC,  Atiku Abubakar has pointedly held President Bola Tinubu and Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, responsible for the seemingly unending detention of a former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai.

Atiku has, therefore, asked both Tinubu Sani, to “immediately” release  El-Rufai from detention.

Recall that El-Rufai has been in the custody and prosecution of Federal Government Agencies from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and the  Department of State Services, DSS, for three months, almost. He has been dragged from a Federal High Court Abuja to a Kaduna High Court.

While in custody, he lost his mother and was released from custody for a couple of days to bury his mother in a ceremony that was attended by every who is who in Government and politics including National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, Governor Sani and a host of other Governors. Surprisingly, however, he was scooped back into custody as soon as his mother was buried.

In a statement he released on his official channel,  Atiku said the detention of El-Rufai till date, has put a question mark on  due process and the rule of law.  According to him, political disagreements should not translate into actions that undermine constitutional rights and personal liberty.

He said: “Regardless of political differences, no Nigerian should be subjected to arbitrary detention.

“I urge President Bola Tinubu and Governor Uba Sani to ensure that Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is released without delay and allowed to answer any allegations through lawful channels.

“The credibility of our institutions is tested in how we treat those with whom we disagree.

“If there are allegations against Mallam El-Rufai, they should be pursued transparently in court, not through detention outside the bounds of the law.”

Ironically, El-Rufai, a founding member of the ruling APC, contributed, in no small measure, to the electoral victory of President Tinubu beginning from his becoming a candidate.

He, it was, who led a group of Governors from the Northern part of the Country to then, now late, President Muhammadu Buhari, to insist that power must shift to the Southern part of Nigeria. At the time, speculation was strong that Buhari had his eyes on former Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan, especially, when former APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu,  after a meeting in the Presidential Villa with Buhari, a few days to the Primary, came out and announced Lawan as the APC choice for the Presidency.

It, also, was El-Rufai who went to Court over the sudden Naira crisis, triggered by former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele and Buhari, which El-Rufai strongly felt was targeted at Tinubu to scuttle his campaign.

However, both men fail out when the Senate embarrassed El-Rufai by not clearing him during screening when Tinubu nominated him for the position of a Minister. El-Rufai insists he was deliberately set-up for humiliation by Tinubu and Ribadu, his estranged close friend, ally and confidant.

El-Rufai has since exited the APC for the ADC.