“There Is Plot To Prolong My Detention” – El-Rufai

By Suleiman Anyalewechi 

With his second bail application billed for ruling today, Tuesday April 21, 2026, by a Kaduna state High Court, detained former Kaduna State Governor Malam Nasir El-Rufai has alleged that there are subtle and orchestrated plots to rope him into a case he knows nothing about and use it to prolong his stay in custody.

El-Rufai who is facing inter-agency investigations and prosecutions over multiple charges bordering on alleged money laundering, diversion of public funds and security related Offences has been in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, since February 18, when he was granted bail by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The anti-graft Commission had, last month, arraigned El-Rufai before a Federal High Court Kaduna and a Kaduna State High Court. 

The Federal High Court granted him  bail on April 14,2026, but his bail application at the High Court,was re-scheduled for ruling on Tuesday , April 21 ,after it had suffered postponement twice.

But in a statement, Muyiwa Adekeye, spokesperson for the former Kaduna state Governor, raised an alarm over what he described as a coordinated and orchestrated attempt to smear his reputation and prolong his ordeal by linking him to an alleged attack on one of the prosecution witnesses.

While vehemently distancing himself from any link to the said attack, El-Rufai described the ingenious ploy to drag his name into the incident as not only malicious, but a witch-hunt. 

Referencing a report in the The Nation Newspaper of April18, 2026 , captioned “El-Rufai’s trial: Gunmen invade  principal witness’ home”,  El-Rufai alleged that the said publication contains  “innuendos suggestive of a plot to frame him”.

According to him, the publication which had claimed that a witness in his ongoing alleged corruption trial  reported an  attack on his residence, and linking same to his role as a witness,  amounts to a deliberate witch-hunting exercise and a ploy to injure his reputation.

“Any objective reader would recognise the clear intent behind these statements: to smear Malam Nasir El-Rufai’s reputation , jeopardise his pending bail application at the Kaduna state High Court ,and implicate him in serious capital offences” Adekeye stated .

While maintaining that he has no connection with the said attack, El-Rufai informed that he has directed his legal team to consider the filing of defamation proceedings against the newspaper outfit .

For the records, The Nation Newspaper is owned by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ,whose Government El-Rufai has consistently alleged is persecuting him due to his membership of the opposition Coalition platform, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and for holding contrary political views.