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El-Rufai’s wife seeks International Community’s intervention as former Governor spends 150 days in detention
…Says husband’s 150-day detention threatens Rule of Law
Asia Ahmad El-Rufai, a lawyer and wife of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has appealed to the international community to intervene over what she described as her husband’s prolonged detention.
She argued that his continued incarceration represents “punishment before trial” and poses a threat to Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
In a public statement issued to mark what she described as the 150th day of El-Rufai’s detention and published on the African Report, Asia said she was speaking “not as a politician, lawyer or diplomat, but as a wife, a mother and a Nigerian woman asking that the country my husband served for so many years remember its own conscience.”
Reflecting on the length of her husband’s detention, she wrote: “On the 150th day of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai’s detention, I ask readers outside Nigeria to pause over what that number means. One hundred and fifty days is not a legal phrase. It is five months of missed meals, missed prayers, missed proper mourning of his deceased mother, missed family conversations, interrupted medical care and moments we can never recover.”
She acknowledged that her husband had long been a controversial political figure, having served as head of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and Governor of Kaduna State.
“My husband is no stranger to controversy or public scrutiny. He has spent more than two decades in public life – as head of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, minister of the Federal Capital Territory and governor of Kaduna State. He has been praised, criticised, loved and opposed. That is democracy. But what is happening to him today is not democracy, and it is not accountability. It is punishment before trial,” she said.
Asia alleged that her husband’s ordeal began with “the attempted airport interception, when security officials seized his passport without a warrant and assaulted his aide in public view.”
According to her, El-Rufai voluntarily honoured an invitation from authorities after being summoned but was subsequently detained despite what she described as promises of bail.
“There was the sudden invitation, his voluntary appearance before the authorities, and the promise of bail that existed on paper but not in freedom. There was the night he was moved between locations without warning and without the dignity of allowing his family to know where he was being taken,” she stated.
She also claimed that the former governor became seriously ill while in custody.
“I still remember the helplessness of hearing that he had fallen gravely ill in custody, bleeding from his nose and mouth, while those responsible for his welfare were reluctant to provide the care any person deserves. I remember the anxiety of trying to get his medication to him and wondering whether officials would accept it.”
Describing the emotional toll on the family, she said: “These are not abstract violations. They are the moments that chip away at a family’s resolve and hope. Behind every headline about ‘charges’ and ‘investigations’, there is a family waiting, praying and trying not to imagine the worst.”
While insisting that no public official should be above the law, she argued that the legal process should be conducted fairly and transpaently.
“Let me be clear: I do not ask that my husband be placed above the law. No public official should be immune from scrutiny. If the state believes it has evidence, let it be presented before an impartial court, openly and fairly. But justice cannot be selective. It cannot be pursued through overlapping charges, repeated detention, impossible bail conditions, and public humiliation designed to persuade the nation of guilt before a judge has heard the case.”
She further argued that recent public discussions had raised concerns that Nigeria, alongside some other African countries, was “drifting from accountability into lawfare – the use of legal processes, judicial procedures and state institutions as political weapons.”
“The concern is not whether former officials may be investigated; they can and should be. The concern is whether the law is being applied neutrally or deployed against those who have fallen out of political favour,” she said.
According to Asia, her husband’s disagreement with President Bola Tinubu’s administration and his departure from the ruling All Progressives Congress should not justify what she described as prolonged persecution.
“My husband’s case has become a test of that distinction. His political rupture with President Bola Tinubu’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and his refusal to surrender his independent voice should not make him a target for indefinite punishment or detention disguised as prosecution.”
She also criticised what she described as the complexity of the legal proceedings against El-Rufai.
“The legal architecture surrounding him is bewildering even to trained observers: multiple charges in different courts, overlapping allegations, shifting statutory theories and duplicated claims arising from the same alleged events. If one application for bail is made and the conditions are met, another accusation can be filed the next day. If one judge must consider freedom, another process can be used to delay it.
“This is how judicial procedure becomes premeditated punishment. This is how we have arrived at 150 days of unjust detention.”
Asia argued that the treatment was not limited to her husband, citing the cases of Joel Adoga, Jimi Lawal and Professor Abubakar Bello.
She said Joel Adoga, whom she described as a former public servant and family breadwinner, had endured prolonged detention, including a month in solitary confinement, while Jimi Lawal had reportedly suffered severe health deterioration during custody.
She also referred to “the 7 July arrest and detention of Professor Abubakar Bello, Mallam’s personal physician, with similar impossible bail conditions.”
“These men are beloved family members and Nigerian citizens. These men are not case files. Their families are not collateral damage to be ignored in the pursuit of a political vendetta,” she said.
Appealing to Nigeria’s diplomatic and development partners, Asia urged foreign governments, multilateral organisations and international human rights groups not to ignore the situation.
“This is why I am appealing to Nigeria’s diplomatic and development partners: do not look away. Those who invest in Nigeria’s democracy, security cooperation, anti-corruption institutions, health systems and development programmes have a legitimate interest in whether those institutions respect due process and human dignity.”
She added: “A country cannot receive international support while using ostensibly democratic institutions to annihilate opposition political voices.”
She called on foreign missions, multilateral organisations, human rights groups and democracy advocates to “monitor this case closely; insist on transparent proceedings before competent and impartial courts; demand humane detention conditions and timely medical access; and make it clear that anti-corruption enforcement must never become a cover for political payback.”
Addressing President Tinubu directly, Asia urged him to allow the judicial process to proceed fairly.
“To President Tinubu, I say this with respect and sorrow: history is rarely kind to leaders who allow power to wound the innocent in order to silence the inconvenient. A strong government does not fear a strong critic.”
She added: “If my husband is credibly accused, let him face the accusations with access to his legal team, his doctors and his family. Let the evidence speak in court, not through orchestrated leaks of falsehood.”
Concluding her appeal, Asia argued that the case extends beyond her husband’s personal circumstances.
“Nigeria’s friends must understand that this case is larger than Nasir El-Rufai. It is about whether a citizen can fall out with power and still be protected by law. It is about whether courts will be places of justice or theatres of intimidation.”
She concluded by saying: “I do not ask the world to decide my husband’s innocence. I ask only that it stand for the principles Nigeria and its constitution have promised to uphold. Fairness, due process, humane treatment, judicial independence and equal protection before the law are not partisan demands. They are the bare conditions of any democratic society.”
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress( NDC) in the 2027 elections, Mr Peter Obi, yesterday visited the Faith Foundation College of Nursing Sciences, Nsukka, where he expressed delight at the progress of projects underway at the institution.
Obi, who inspected some of the ongoing projects, was received by the Proprietor of the College, Rt. Rev. Dr. Aloysius Agbo, who expressed appreciation for Obi’s longstanding support for the institution.
Agbo disclosed that Obi’s earlier financial contributions had played a significant role in giving the institution the confidence to embark on many of the projects currently under construction.
The Proprietor said the support had encouraged the management to continue investing in the development of the institution and its facilities.
In continuation of his support for the institution, Obi presented a cheque of ₦10 million towards the ongoing projects.
He also assured the management that he would continue to partner with the institution until it realises its objective of producing its first set of nurses.
Obi said his intervention was part of his broader commitment to supporting education and healthcare, particularly the training of quality healthcare professionals who would contribute to strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system.
He thereafter proceeded to St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Nsukka, where he participated in the 68th Annual Conference of Anglican Youths.
Addressing the youths, Obi urged them to recognise their responsibility in building a new Nigeria, stressing that the country they desire cannot emerge without their active participation in shaping its future.
He urged them to reject politics based on tribe, religion or language and instead insist on electing leaders with proven character, competence, capacity, integrity and strong ethical values.
According to him, the future of Nigeria depends not only on the leaders the country produces but also on the standards citizens demand from those who seek public office.
“Our future depends not only on the leaders we produce but also on the standards we demand. Together, we can build the New Nigeria that is possible,” he said.
Several people were feared killed on Thursday when armed men reportedly attacked three communities in Kupa Kingdom — Abugi, Kuchinda and Mikugi — in Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State in an alleged reprisal attack.
Residents said the incident began around 8am when a herder, suspected of being a cattle rustler, was shot and killed during a heated altercation with local vigilantes at a checkpoint in the community.
“Few hours after the checkpoint incident between a herder and vigilantes, armed hoodlums invaded the town, shooting sporadically from different directions.
“In the process, several residents were killed, with many others sustaining injuries, as the armed hoodlums attacked streets, markets and even the palace of our paramount traditional ruler in the town.
“As of yesterday night, seven people were confirmed dead. The death toll may rise in the days ahead as the search for and confirmation of victims is still in progress.
“Moreover, the situation will become clearer when families who sought refuge in safer communities start returning from their various hiding places,” Ahmed, a resident of Abugi, said.
A son of the Mayaki of Kupa, Prince Aliyu Isah Kabir, who is the APC Youth Leader of Kupa South Ward, was confirmed to be among the victims of the attack.
The Lokoja Local Government Chairman, Comrade Abdullahi Adamu, confirmed the incident, saying the attack on the Kupa communities had led to loss of lives and destruction of property.
Adamu said: “We have charged the relevant security agencies to swing into action and arrest anyone who has a hand, directly or remotely, in the attack and bring them to face the law.
“The government is saddened by this devilish act and will leave no stone unturned in getting justice for the deceased. I want to appeal for calm while the relevant security agencies take action.”
The Kogi State Government also condemned the attack, describing it as tragic, senseless and unacceptable.
In a statement issued on Friday, the state government described the incident as a reprisal attack and vowed to investigate the circumstances surrounding it, identify those responsible and prosecute them as a deterrent to others.
In the statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, the government said: “The Kogi State Government condemns in the strongest terms both the killing of the unarmed herder and the subsequent reprisal attack.
“These are criminal acts that have no place in our society. Anyone found to have participated in either incident, regardless of status or ethnic affiliation, will face the full weight of the law.
“We appeal to all residents to remain calm and resist the temptation of reprisals. We also urge members of the public to cooperate with security agencies by providing credible information that will aid ongoing investigations and the arrest of all those responsible.”
According to the statement, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo sympathised with the families of the deceased and directed “security agencies to immediately restore calm, take control of the situation and apprehend those responsible for the killings.”
The government also appealed for calm, urging residents to avoid further retaliation and provide security agencies with credible information as investigations into the incident continue.
Meanwhile, the Kogi State Police Command was contacted over the development, but its spokesperson, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, did not respond to calls and a text message as of the time of filing this report. (Daily Trust)
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered two more fake agencies operated by the self‑styled Director‑General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Matthew Adeyemi.
ICPC Chairman Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after he submitted the commission’s interim report on the existence and operation of the fake agency at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Dr. Aliyu said the investigation revealed that Adeyemi was never appointed by the Federal Government and that the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council was never established by law or executive order.
According to the interim report, the appointment letter presented by Adeyemi was forged, while the PFIPC illegally appropriated offices and instruments from the former Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).
He said the fake agency, using the former PEAC office, engaged in false representation, widespread impersonation and various illegal activities that exploited weaknesses in verification and inter‑agency oversight.
He further stated that the investigation uncovered two additional fake government agencies: the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (PIFA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (PIPA).
“These agencies were created using forged legislative instruments and were used to open bank accounts for illegal activities,” he said.
The ICPC boss said Adeyemi changed the name of the fake agency from Foreign Investment Promotion Council to Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and attempted to expand its mandate to include revenue generation.
He said: “The investigation found no funds were approved or disbursed for the fake PFIPC/PEAC, and there were no weaknesses in the State House or CBN system.”
Some recommendations of the committee, which was given 30 days to unravel the mystery behind the existence of the fake agency, include prosecution of Mr. Adeyemi; imposing administrative sanctions on public officers who facilitated the illegal operations; and instituting reforms to improve internal controls
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The public officers who were said to be collaborators are from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Accountant‑General’s Office, the Budget Office and the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA.
“The report is interim and the investigation continues to uncover more details to file criminal charges against Adeyemi and his collaborators,” he said.
Dr. Aliyu added that President Tinubu has taken note of the findings and has expressed his commitment to transparency and accountability in addressing the issue.
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