The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of keeping former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai in detention on purpose to weaken the opposition before the 2027 general election.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the claim during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday. He said the ADC is not against the prosecution of anyone with a genuine case to answer, but believes the way El-Rufai’s case is being handled points to politics.
Abdullahi said the former governor remains in custody despite facing bailable offences, making the opposition believe the government wants him detained until after the next election.
“We are 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,” he said.
He added, “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.”
Abdullahi claimed the APC fears El-Rufai’s political influence, saying his release would make the opposition coalition stronger ahead of the 2027 election.
“They know that with Malam Nasir El-Rufai freed, the opposition is stronger… That is why they want to hold him,” he alleged.
He also raised concerns about El-Rufai’s health, saying reports from his family showed doctors at the National Hospital advised that he should remain under medical observation after his condition worsened.
“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,” Abdullahi said, describing the former governor as “a political prisoner.”
He also accused the APC of using court cases to weaken the opposition, saying the party was more focused on the 2027 election than solving the country’s problems. He added that the ADC coalition was formed to give Nigerians another political option and dismissed the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda as “just a slogan.”
El-Rufai is facing alleged financial misconduct charges filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over his time as Kaduna State governor. He is also on trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged unlawful interception of telephone communications in a case filed by the Department of State Services (DSS).
