The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned President Bola Tinubu against the continued detention of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, saying the President would be held personally responsible if anything happened to the opposition figure while in custody.
The warning was issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, following El-Rufai’s prolonged detention by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
El-Rufai was arrested in February 2026 after the anti-graft agency launched an investigation into allegations of corruption, abuse of office and money laundering during his tenure as governor of Kaduna State.
The ICPC subsequently obtained a 14-day remand order from a Magistrate Court in Abuja under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015. The remand order has since been extended, with the former governor remaining in custody.
Speaking during an interview on Symfoni TV, Abdullahi alleged that El-Rufai’s continued detention was politically motivated and aimed at weakening the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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According to him, the former governor had not been convicted of any offence, arguing that only the courts had the authority to determine his guilt or innocence.
“Nasir El-Rufai is not being held today because he committed any crime, as that would have been left for the court to decide. Let the court pronounce that he’s guilty or not guilty,” Abdullahi said.
“But to continue to hold him speaks to something else, and that’s why it’s clear to us that the desire and intentions of this government is to continue to hold El-Rufai to ensure that he does not participate in this election and does not strengthen the opposition.”
The ADC spokesman further alleged that the Federal Government was deliberately keeping the former Kaduna governor out of the political space because of his perceived influence within the opposition coalition.
“That is exactly what they plan to do,” he said.
Abdullahi also cautioned that President Tinubu would bear responsibility should anything untoward happen to El-Rufai while he remained in detention.
“I will repeat it here that if, God forbid, anything happens to El-Rufai, President Bola Tinubu should realise, even if he didn’t intend it, that he would be held personally responsible, and the consequences can’t be imagined,” he stated.
