THE African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of being responsible for the continued detention of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, alleging that the government intends to keep him in custody until after the 2027 general elections.
News Point Nigeria reports that the allegation was made on Thursday by the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, during an interview on Channels Television, where he claimed that the opposition party believes the APC-led government has no intention of releasing the former governor before the elections.
Abdullahi maintained that the ADC was not opposed to the prosecution of anyone with legitimate cases to answer but questioned the continued detention of El-Rufai over what he described as bailable offences.
“And I say let me establish the principle that ADC is not opposed to anybody who has a legitimate case to answer, from being prosecuted, but when you are holding someone in custody for bailable offences, and you proceed to continue to arraign that person and continue to set conditions for bail that are almost impossible for this person to meet, it creates room for us to believe that you deliberately intend to hold this person in perpetuity and you are just looking for legal loopholes to hold this person,” Abdullahi said.
He added: “What I can tell you is that the thinking within the ADC is that the APC government has concluded that they will not release Malam Nasir El-Rufai until after the elections. That’s what we believe in.”
According to him, the opposition believes there is a deliberate plan to keep El-Rufai out of circulation because his freedom would strengthen opposition forces ahead of the next general election.
“That is the plan, and that’s what they plan to do because they know that with Malam Nasir El-Rufai freed, the opposition is stronger, and they know that if they release him, he is going to remind them of certain things that they would rather forget.
“So that is why they want to hold him. And I’m telling you that we in the opposition believe that they are doing everything to make sure that Malam Nasir El-Rufai remains in custody until after the elections,” he stated.
The ADC spokesperson also raised concerns about El-Rufai’s health condition, warning that President Bola Tinubu would be held accountable should anything happen to the former governor while in detention.
“Now, having said that, this person has a medical condition. You may not intend it. But if you don’t allow this person to be, if you don’t allow Malam Nasir El-Rufai to receive the requisite medical help that he needed — because according to the report we got from the family, he was at the National Hospital a few days ago, and the hospital advised that he should be, he should be kept under watch because his health was failing,” Abdullahi said.
He continued: “And we have said it, and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, our presidential candidate, has said it. If anything happens to Malam Nasir El-Rufai in detention, President Bola Tinubu will be held personally responsible because the buck stops on the table.
“And we say that there is a political prisoner in Nigeria today, and his name is Malam Nasir El-Rufai.”
Abdullahi further alleged that the various cases against opposition figures were designed to deny Nigerians meaningful alternatives in the 2027 elections.
He accused the APC-led administration of focusing more on electoral politics than on addressing the country’s pressing challenges, describing the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda as merely a slogan without substance.
According to him, the coalition of opposition leaders under the ADC was driven by a shared determination to introduce a different style of politics in Nigeria.
He said the decision to unite under the ADC platform reflected the opposition’s commitment to offering Nigerians a credible alternative ahead of the 2027 general election.
El-Rufai is currently facing charges of alleged financial misconduct during his tenure as governor of Kaduna State, filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) before the Federal High Court.
The former governor is also standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations of wire-tapping in a separate case instituted by the Department of State Services (DSS).