The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government of deliberately keeping former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in custody until after the 2027 general election.
Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television on Thursday, the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, claimed the opposition believes the government is intentionally frustrating El-Rufai’s release by imposing bail conditions that are difficult to meet.
Abdullahi maintained that the ADC is not opposed to the prosecution of any individual with a legitimate case to answer but questioned the continued detention of El-Rufai over what he described as bailable offences.
“The 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 proceed to impose impossible bail conditions, it creates the impression that there is a deliberate attempt to keep that person in detention indefinitely,” he said.
He further alleged that the APC had resolved not to allow El-Rufai regain his freedom before the next general election.
“What I can tell you is that the thinking within the ADC is that the APC government has concluded that they will not release Mallam Nasir El-Rufai until after the election. That’s what we believe, that’s the plan,” Abdullahi stated.
According to him, the ruling party fears that El-Rufai’s release would strengthen the opposition ahead of the 2027 polls.
“They know that with Mallam Nasir El-Rufai freed, the opposition is stronger, and they know that if they release him, he would remind them of certain things they would rather forget. We in the opposition believe they are doing everything to ensure that El-Rufai remains in custody until after the election,” he added.
The APC and the Federal Government have not publicly responded to the allegations.
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