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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has demanded the immediate release or formal arraignment of former Nasiru El-Rufai, ex-Governor of Kaduna State, saying his continued detention without formal charges violates fundamental rights and the Constitution.
The party stated that El-Rufai, who honoured an invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) 32 days ago, was later taken into custody by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
According to ADC, he has remained in detention for over 30 days without arraignment, formal charges, or access to family and medical care.
In a statement signed on Wednesday by the National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party described the circumstances of El-Rufai’s detention as “illegal, unconstitutional, and an affront to the democratic principles of Nigeria.”
The ADC said that, by his own account, El-Rufai was allegedly coerced into abandoning his political rights and associations in exchange for freedom.
“Freedom is not a privilege granted at the pleasure of the executive branch. It is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. The right to liberty, the right to fair hearing, and the right to political participation are not negotiable or conditional,” the statement read.
It further noted:
“A government that detains without charge, intimidates without evidence, and demands silence in exchange for freedom is not acting like a democratic government; it is behaving like something else entirely.”
The party directed relevant state actors, including the National Security Adviser, ICPC leadership, and other agencies involved, to comply immediately and unconditionally with the Constitution.
“For the avoidance of doubt…the ICPC was established to investigate and prosecute corruption, and strengthen public trust in governance—not to serve as an instrument of political suppression or a tool in partisan political battles.”
The ADC also called on Nigerians across party lines, religions, and states to defend the Constitution, warning that “the erosion of rights rarely begins with everyone; it begins with one and spreads where silence permits it.”
The statement criticised what it described as “the irony and shame” that a government claiming democratic credentials would preside over actions reminiscent of abuses resisted during the NADECO era.
Concluding, the ADC stated:
“We demand the immediate release of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai or his immediate arraignment in a court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing more. Nothing less. That is the law.”
El-Rufai remains in custody amid multiple investigations:
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The Department of State Services filed three-count cybercrime charges against him following a February 13 interview on Arise TV, where he admitted accessing intercepted phone conversations of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
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El-Rufai linked the tapped conversations to an attempted detention at Abuja airport on February 12.
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The EFCC detained him on February 16, granted bail on February 18, and he was immediately rearrested by the ICPC.
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EFCC and ICPC are probing the alleged diversion of N432 billion in Kaduna State public funds.
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