El Rufai: Between Political Persecution And Prosecution

By Bayo Bernard

*”The Federal Government should come clean. It should convince Nigerians that El-Rufai is not detained this long, is not being persecuted, because he holds a different opinion from the Powers-that-be”*

The continuous detention of former Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State by the Federal Government, is doing a huge damage to the President BolaTinubu administration. It has, also become an embarrassment to Nigeria among committee of nations. And it is stirring up serious reactions, among well meaning Nigerians, and lovers of democracy all over the world, who are now critically questioning the democratic credentials of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and the current administration.

Instructively, close watchers of the administration are also expressing serious doubts over the administration’s tolerance of the opposition leaders and dissents in the country.

Thus, following the detention of the former governor of Kaduna state on February 17 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, after he voluntarily presented himself before the Commission, and his detention by the ICPC, on February 19, many questions are being asked, among Nigerians, on what offence(s) he actually committed to warrant him being harassed, humiliated and kept incommunicado from his family, friends and political associates, for almost a month. Indeed when hopes were high that the ICPC would release him, the ICPC scandalised not a few when it went back to Court to seek for an extension of El-Rufai’s detention. Before his present ordeal, El-Rufai had been accosted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by Security Agents on his return from Egypt where he had gone for medical attention.

For the records, the Tinubu’s administration, is probing the El-Rufai for an alleged financial corruption while he was the governor of the North central state, an allegation that has been vehemently debunked by him.

The ex-governor has also recently been charged by the EFCC for allegedly tapping the phone calls of the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, referencing his appearance as a guest on Arise TV Prime Time programme on February 13, 2026 as evidence.

Recall that the former governor had, on the programme, accused the NSA of planning to arrest him on his return from abroad, saying he knew about the plot “because we listened to their calls. The government thinks that they’re the only ones that listen to calls. But we also have our ways. He made the call. He gave the order that they should arrest me.”
Few days after he made the allegation, the former governor was arrested by the EFCC, and since then, between the EFCC and the ICPC, he has been held without release, like a a hardened criminal, like he has no rights, and like his life does not matter.

El Rufai’s incarceration has generated serious furore from not a few well-meaning Nigerians, who are now asking very salient questions, including the legality of holding the former FCT Minister for close to a month without trial; whether the former governor was arrested because of his outspokenness against the government, and may be the powers-that-be simply decided to take him out of the system because of the key role he’s playing in trying to galvanize the opposition against the ruling party ahead the 2027 general elections.
Others are also asking why the same Tinubu government he played a huge role in bringing to power in 2023, has now turned against him, and as some Nigerians are now suggesting, is trying to punish him because of El Rufai’s penchant for constantly speaking against the administration.
Is the former governor deserving of the treatment being meted out to him by the administration which ascension to power he played a huge role, and President Tinubu who, probably could not have become president without El Rufai’s support?

So, what did El Rufai actually do to warrant him to be clamped into detention, like a common criminal?

Going by the government’s allegation against him, even though it’s hard, to establish which of the two accusations he’s now being held for, can the administration, with good conscience defend its decision to continue to detain El Rufai, as if he has been pronounced guilty, already, by the court of law?

So far, the Court process is still ongoing, and following a recent court order, to the effect that the former governor be released or charged to court, not a few Nigerians consider his continued detention by the ICPC as a violation of his fundamental human rights as enshrined in Chapter IV, Sections 33 to 46.of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

This is the contention of Kenneth Okonkwo, a chieftain of the ADC, when he featured on Channels TV recently. He accused the Tinubu administration of deliberately detaining the former governor without genuine reason. Okonkwo echoed what other well-meaning Nigerians have also contended, to the effect that El Rufai should be released from detention and be presented in Court, now that he has been charged by the Federal Government for allegedly tapping the phone calls of the NSA, Ribadu.

What ICPC is doing gives the impression that it had no case against him before his arrest and detention, and is just now fishing for what to hold against him. Otherwise, why would it take this long to establish any case against him and take him to Court.

The government had two weeks ago filed charges against him, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, before the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, claiming that El Rufai had on February 13, 2026, while appearing as a guest on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme in Abuja, admitted that he and others unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of the NSA.
But Okonkwo, argued that the Federal Government must prove that El Rufai’s detention is not politically motivated, by bringing him to court for trial, saying the former governor’s predicament may not be totally unconnected with his alignment with the opposition ADC ahead of the 2027 elections.

According to Okonkwo, it’s not in doubt that President Tinubu is using the instrumentality of power to harass El Rufai, and other outspoken opposition leaders in the country who pose serious challenge to his next year’s re-electoin bid.

El Rufia “is being maltreated, he is being persecuted because he has joined ADC, and we are not exculpating anybody,” Okonkwo said, describing the corruption allegation against the former governor as an alibi to punish him for his consistent criticism against the administration.

“For now, he is using his authority as the commander-in-chief to use the instrumentality of the anti-corruption agencies in courts, because I wonder whether there is any commission fighting corruption in Tinubu’s regime,” he stated.

Apart from El Rufai, other opposition leaders in the country, a former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami are facing different charges from the government, and the manner their cases are being handled has not escaped the scrutiny of Nigerians, who are wondering who could be grabbed next by the Tinubu administration.

What is common to the opposition leaders in their face-off with the administration is the accusation that they are being attacked because of their political difference with the Tinubu’s government. The government is seriously struggling to debunk the allegation, according to its critics.

Like Okonkwo, other Nigerians said they are finding it difficult to fathom why the former governor has been singled out for punishment, as if he’s the only one facing corruption allegations in the country. They are citing some top officials of the ruling APC, who have graft allegations hanging on their neck, but are still enjoying their freedom as if nothing is amiss, or rather in way that suggest that the Nigerian law, under the Tinubu administration has been fashioned to only punish and harass those who speak against the government, and opposition leaders who are regarded as a high risk for Tinubu and the ruling party’s quest to hold on to power, particularly as the next election in the country is around the corner.

This assertion is not hard to believe.

First, El Rufai’s case is not different from that of Yahaya Bello, a former governor of Kogi State, who despite the EFCC N118 billion case against him, is moving around freely in the country, and has been appointed as a member of the Financial Committee of the APC next year’s election’s campaign. He was even allowed to go to the Holy Land on pilgrimage. The question is begging for answer; whether the former Kogi helmsman, has more than two heads, or simply because El Rufai, by joining the opposition ADC has committed a mortal sin, and as such, no longer enjoys the maximum protection of the APC-led government for its leaders, good or bad.

El Rufai’s predicament may be a further proof of the remark, by a former National Chairman of the APC, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, to the effect that once you are member of the ruling party, you are forgiven of any offence or crime you may have committed against the country.

If not so, Nigerians are asking also, why some stalwarts of the ruling party, including former state governors and senators, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who are facing corruption charges are still allowed to enjoy their freedom. Could the only reason be that they are members of the ruling APC, and have not fallen out with the President and the powers that-be in Aso Villa, Nigeria’s seat of power?

This does not necessarily suggest that the former governor of Kaduna should be left off the hook, if he has, indeed, committed any crime that warrants the full weight of the law to be brought down on him. Far from it. But what not a few Nigerians are saying is that he remains innocent until proven guilty, and that he must not be harassed and tretad like a leper, while such cases are ongoing simply because he now shares a different view with those in power in Abuja, or because the power brokers in the country now consider him a political high-risk for his outspokenness, and because he’s a member of the coalition ADC, regarded by some government’s critics as the rallying point for opposition leaders in the country who are bent on challenging Tinubu’s and APC stranglehold on power in the next election in the country.

It’s not yet late for the administration to redeem itself of the image deficit it has incurred due to the El-Rufai brohaha.What the Tinubu Government needs to do is prove that the continuous detention of the former governor is not based on bad fate. And the only way to prove this is to handle his case in a transparent manner, for instance, by allowing him to have his dat in court, to defend himself of the allegation against him.

This is the position of the Coalition Political Action Committee, COPAC, who last week, urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to either file formal charges against the former governor or release him immediately, warning that any continued detention beyond the legally permitted period has violated the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights law.

“The 14-day remand order obtained in the case involving Nasir El-Rufai has expired. That order was granted for a specific and limited purpose: to allow investigators to complete their work within a defined constitutional window. It was not a licence for indefinite detention, procedural manipulation, or political theatre,” COPAC stated.

This assertion is not different from the position of some legal practitioners in the country who insist that the continued detention of the former governor is unwarranted, that the government has the choice to bring him to a public court for arraignment or let him go.

A legal practitioner, Abba Hikima said it’s unfathomable that the Federal Government has decided to hold the former governor for this long, despite the constitutional provisions that forbids such act.

“It is unfortunate that in a constitutional democracy like Nigeria, a suspect can be held for this number of days without being charged,” Hikimi said, adding that investigations should precede arrests.

“The law is clear that you don’t arrest someone and then start investigating. Investigation should come first before arrest and detention,” he said.
Also, Salman Jawondo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN argued that law enforcement agencies must strictly adhere to constitutional provisions in detaining suspects during investigations, maintaining that prolonged detention without court proceedings raises legal concerns.

Jawondu: “Generally speaking, they ought to have taken him to court because he has been detained for more than two weeks now. If they have reasons why he should not be granted bail, the court will consider them.

“Detention should not be punitive. We must create a level playing field when investigating crimes. Nobody should be too small or too big.”
On its part, the ADC has demanded the immediate release of El-Rufai.
According to National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, fighting corruption through corrupt means amounts to another form of corruption.

Abdullahi insisted that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not allow any citizen to be held “interminably” and therefore urged the ICPC to release the former governor.

He said, “The continued detention of Mallam El-Rufai is a brazen affront to the rule of law. Our Constitution does not allow any citizen to be held indefinitely. But this APC government doesn’t care about the rule of law or decency. To them, might is right.

“Fighting corruption through corrupt and corrupted means is the worst form of corruption. ICPC should release El-Rufai now.”