The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration would be responsible for the safety of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, claiming his continued detention is politically motivated.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the allegation during an interview on Symfoni TV.
Abdullahi argued that El-Rufai’s detention was not about the rule of law or the commission of any offence but was intended to prevent him from participating in the political process.
“If anything happens to El-Rufai while he remains in state custody, President Bola Tinubu and his administration will bear full responsibility,” he said.
According to Abdullahi, any determination of El-Rufai’s guilt or innocence should be left to the courts.
“El-Rufai is not being held today because he committed any crime. That would have been left for the court to decide. Let the court pronounce that he is guilty or is not guilty,” he stated.
He further alleged that the continued detention was aimed at preventing the former governor from strengthening the opposition ahead of future elections.
“But to continue to hold him interminably speaks to something else, and that is why it is clear to us that the desire or the intention of this APC government is to continue to hold El-Rufai to ensure that he does not participate in this election and strengthen the opposition. That is exactly what they plan to do,” Abdullahi added.
The ADC spokesperson also recalled El-Rufai’s support for Tinubu’s presidential ambition, claiming the former Kaduna governor stood by the President at a time when many members of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet allegedly did not.
The Federal Government had not responded to the ADC’s allegations as of the time of filing this report.
