The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) intends to keep former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai in custody until after the 2027 general elections.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the allegation on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Abdullahi said the ADC has no objection to the prosecution of anyone with a legitimate case to answer but argued that the conditions surrounding El-Rufai’s detention and bail have raised concerns.
> “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.”
According to Abdullahi, the opposition believes the APC fears El-Rufai’s political influence and is deliberately ensuring that he remains behind bars until after the 2027 elections.
