The African Democratic Congress has described former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as a “political prisoner” of President Bola Tinubu over the legal battles currently facing the ex-governor.
The National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the allegation during an interview on Symfoni TV on Thursday.
Abdullahi claimed that the court actions against El-Rufai were politically motivated and designed to keep him out of the political scene ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to him, the charges filed against the former governor were bailable, but the legal process was allegedly being manipulated to prolong his detention.
“Today, regardless of whatever charges they have against Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is a political prisoner of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu because there are no charges that have been brought against him that are not bailable,” he said.
“What they are doing by taking him to court, then shifting the date of hearing of the bail application, then moving him to another court and fixing another long duration to hear his bail application, is effectively playing games with the law to keep him in detention and out of circulation ahead of the next election.”
The ADC spokesman said the party was considering escalating the matter beyond Nigeria if the situation persists.
He stated that party leaders had held discussions on the issue and initially hoped the rule of law would prevail.
“We in ADC are saying that Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is Tinubu’s political prisoner,” Abdullahi added.
He further disclosed that members of the party leadership attended court proceedings involving El-Rufai, including the period he was briefly released to attend the burial of his late mother before being taken back into custody.
“But we are going to escalate it regionally. We’re going to escalate it internationally. We’ve been doing this and will continue to do this,” he said.
