Presidential hopeful under the African Democratic Congress, ADC Atiku Abubakar has urged President Tinubu to order the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC to release former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai.
The ADC presidential candidate said if Tinubu could order a sister anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to unfreeze Osun state government account, it could do the same with Elrufai case by directing the ICPC to release him.
Abubakar made the remark in a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, his media assistant on Friday, saying the manner President Tinubu ordered the EFCC on the Osun issue is an indication that anti-graft agencies are no longer independent.
Meanwhile, divergent reactions have trailed the president’s directive to the EFCC to lift the freeze it had earlier placed on the Osun state account.
Elrufai is currently being prosecuted over corruption related issue, and has been in detention since March this year.
Not a few Nigerians have described his trial as politically motivated, saying he deserves a fair trial even when there are allegations of corruption against him.
Abubakar’s remarks come on the heels of President Tinubu’s directive to the EFCC to return to court and vacate the order freezing the Osun State Government’s bank accounts.
While acknowledging that the anti-graft agency acted within its statutory powers, the President said the timing of the action—barely days before the August 15 governorship election—was inappropriate.
Reacting through a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the President’s intervention had punctured the long-held claim that the EFCC operates independently of the Presidency.
According to him, Tinubu cannot deny involvement in the commission’s affairs while simultaneously issuing operational directives.
“President Tinubu’s statement has raised more questions than it has answered,” Atiku said.
The former vice-president pointed out that although the EFCC gave detailed reasons for freezing the Osun accounts, it made no reference to obtaining a court order.
He also questioned why the President’s explanation rested entirely on the existence of such an order.
“If indeed there was a court order, why did the EFCC omit such a fundamental fact from its official account? If there was none, then the President has introduced into the public discourse a legal process that exists nowhere in the EFCC’s own narrative,” he stated.
Atiku argued that the President cannot claim non-interference in the EFCC’s operations while directing the commission to discontinue its action.
“He cannot claim that he neither knew of nor interferes in the operations of the EFCC and, in the very next breath, announce that he has directed the commission to discontinue its action and return to court.
“If the EFCC promptly complies with that directive, then Nigerians have before them undeniable proof that the commission is not as operationally independent as the President wants the country to believe.”
Regarding Elrufai’s case, Atiku said the President should apply the same authority he exercised in the Osun matter.
“Having now demonstrated that he can issue direct operational directives to anti-corruption agencies whenever he considers it expedient, President Tinubu owes Nigerians an explanation as to why he cannot exercise the same authority in the case of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai,” he said.
“If he can direct the EFCC to discontinue its action today, then he cannot pretend to be powerless over the actions of the ICPC tomorrow. Executive power cannot be invoked selectively for political convenience while institutional independence is cited only when it suits the Presidency.”
While acknowledging that lifting the freeze on the Osun State Government’s accounts could help calm political tensions ahead of the governorship election, Atiku insisted that key questions remain unanswered.
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