By Sabiu Abdullahi
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government intends to keep former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai in custody until after the 2027 general election.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the allegation during an appearance on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television.
Abdullahi said the ADC does not oppose the prosecution of any individual with a legitimate case to answer. However, he argued that the conditions attached to El-Rufai’s bail raise concerns about the government’s intentions.
He said: “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 arraign that person and make impossible conditions for bail to meet, it creates room for us to believe that you deliberate intend to hold this person in perpetuity.
“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, and that’s what they plan to do. 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 that they would rather forget.
“We in the opposition believe that they are doing everything to make sure that El-Rufai remains in custody until after the election.”
The APC had not publicly responded to the allegation at the time of filing this report.
