Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, Dele Momodu, has said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar appointed the detained former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as deputy chairman of his 2027 presidential campaign council to honour what he described as El-Rufai’s political sacrifice, insisting that the former governor’s continued detention is politically motivated and that he remains one of the most formidable political figures in Northern Nigeria.
Momodu, who was named Deputy Director-General of the Media and Communications Directorate in the campaign structure unveiled on Thursday, spoke on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief. “It is a way of honouring his sacrifice because his travails, I can say, are quite political in nature,” he said. “But I am very happy that ADC found it necessary to put him on that list.” He described El-Rufai as “a prisoner of conscience,” adding, “He is in the hands of a government that he helped to midwife.”
El-Rufai has been in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission since February 2026, following a petition alleging corruption, abuse of office and money laundering during his tenure as governor of Kaduna State. He was arraigned before the Kaduna High Court on April 13, 2026, on an amended nine-count charge bordering on alleged fraud and abuse of office. He has denied wrongdoing. He also faces separate proceedings, including a case filed by the Department of State Services over allegations relating to the interception of communications involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. His fundamental rights enforcement suit against the ICPC, the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation has been adjourned to October 27, 2026, for definite hearing. The ICPC has denied that his detention is political, saying he remains in custody because he has yet to fulfil his court-approved bail conditions.
Momodu said El-Rufai could have remained outside the country but chose to return despite knowing he would be arrested. “He could have stayed away from the country. He chose to come back to the country. He knew he was going to be arrested, and he was arrested,” he said. He criticised the bail conditions attached to the former governor’s case, describing them as excessive. “The bail conditions given to him are so horrendous that even his enemies would wonder why he has to go through such a painful experience in the hands of a government that he helped to midwife,” he said. He added, “If not for him, I’m sure President Bola Tinubu will not be in office today.”
The ADC’s national leadership had previously declared El-Rufai a prisoner of conscience and demanded his immediate release. The party’s National Executive Committee, in a communiqué issued in May 2026, recognised El-Rufai as a prisoner of conscience and called for his release. Momodu’s remarks on Friday extended that position, framing the campaign appointment as both a recognition of El-Rufai’s political contribution and a challenge to the government over his detention.
The appointment itself was announced on Thursday as part of a 69-member campaign council that Atiku described as deliberately lean and results-driven. Kashim Ibrahim-Imam was named chairman, El-Rufai deputy chairman, Senator Austin Akobundu Director-General and Campaign Manager, and former Edo State Governor John Oyegun chairman of the Campaign Advisory Council. Dino Melaye was assigned to contact and mobilisation, while economist Mohammed Hayatu-Deen will lead the policy team, supported by Professor Kingsley Moghalu, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Momodu will coordinate the campaign’s media and communications operations across traditional, broadcast and digital platforms.
Atiku said the structure reflected “the mood of the nation and the severe economic realities confronting millions of Nigerians,” adding that it would not be “a bloated campaign built around titles, privileges and political patronage.” According to the campaign, El-Rufai’s role will include high-level political coordination and engagement with critical stakeholders across the country, a mandate that will be difficult to discharge from an ICPC detention facility. The ADC has not explained how El-Rufai will perform his duties while in custody, and it remains unclear whether he will participate in campaign activities remotely or whether his appointment is primarily symbolic.
Momodu’s defence of El-Rufai’s appointment comes amid a broader political confrontation over the former governor’s detention. Atiku’s camp has accused the Tinubu administration of waging war on opposition figures rather than fighting corruption, citing El-Rufai’s extended detention and contrasting it with the freedom of other public officials facing similar allegations. The Presidency has rejected that framing, insisting that the ICPC operates independently and that El-Rufai’s detention is a matter for the courts.
The appointment of a detained politician to a senior campaign position is unusual in Nigerian politics, though not unprecedented. It places El-Rufai at the centre of Atiku’s 2027 bid while he remains legally entangled, and it signals that the ADC intends to make his prosecution a campaign issue. For El-Rufai, the appointment offers a platform to remain politically relevant despite his detention. For Atiku, it consolidates support in the North-West, where El-Rufai retains significant influence, and frames the campaign as a contest between an administration accused of political persecution and an opposition that presents itself as a victim of it.
The 2027 presidential election is scheduled for January 16, with the governorship and state assembly elections following on February 6. Atiku is seeking the presidency on the ADC platform, with former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate. President Tinubu is seeking a second term on the All Progressives Congress ticket. As the campaign intensifies, the treatment of El-Rufai and the legality of his continued detention will remain a contested issue, and Momodu’s intervention has placed the ADC’s position firmly on the record. Whether voters accept the framing of El-Rufai as a prisoner of conscience or view his detention as a legitimate anti-corruption process will be tested at the polls.
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