Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, and a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, Dele Momodu, have renewed calls for the release of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who has remained in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission since February 2026, insisting that his case must be resolved through due process rather than prolonged detention.
Obi’s media aide, Idris Zekeri, told Saturday PUNCH that the former Anambra State governor had consistently demanded that El-Rufai’s case be addressed through the courts, arguing that any allegations against him should be established before a competent tribunal instead of allowing him to remain detained for an extended period. “Peter Obi has been one of the most vocal since the issue of El-Rufai’s ordeal started,” Zekeri said. “We still strongly believe that if there is any case against him, it should be established instead of detaining him unlawfully for an extended period of time without actually dealing with the issue. No Nigerian should be suffering extended detention without a charge and without his rights being respected”. Obi had previously criticised El-Rufai’s detention in March 2026, describing it as political persecution and calling for the rule of law to prevail.
El-Rufai was initially detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on February 16, 2026, after honouring an invitation from the agency, and was subsequently transferred to ICPC custody on February 18. He has since faced criminal proceedings over allegations including financial misconduct and money laundering, which he has denied. In April 2026, the Federal High Court in Kaduna granted him bail in the sum of N200 million with two sureties, but the court ordered that he remain in ICPC custody until he fulfilled the bail conditions. The ICPC has maintained that his detention was authorised by court orders and that he remains in custody because he has yet to meet the conditions. Momodu described the bail conditions as “so horrendous that even his enemies would wonder why he has to go through such painful experience”.
By September 4, 2026, El-Rufai had spent 200 days in ICPC custody, according to a statement by Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, who described the former governor as a political prisoner and questioned what he called the different treatment of opposition politicians and members of the ruling All Progressives Congress. Ibe pointed to former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, who faces EFCC prosecution but remains politically active, and asked why the law appeared “so aggressive against opposition politicians and so accommodating to politicians in the ruling APC”.
Momodu, who is the Deputy Director-General of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Council Media and Communications Directorate, criticised El-Rufai’s continued detention on Friday during Channels Television’s Morning Brief. He described the former governor as a “prisoner of conscience” and alleged that the circumstances surrounding his detention were political. “We can all see what he experienced in the hands of a government he helped to midwife,” Momodu said. “Without former President Muhammad Buhari, Aisha Buhari and Nasir El-Rufai, I am not sure President Tinubu will be in office today”. He added that 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”.
The renewed calls for El-Rufai’s release come as he assumes a prominent position in the ADC’s 2027 campaign structure. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate, named El-Rufai as deputy chairman of his Presidential Campaign Council on Thursday, with Kashim Ibrahim-Imam as chairman. Momodu said the appointment was intended to honour El-Rufai’s political sacrifice and described him as “one of the most formidable political figures from Northern Nigeria, especially the Northwest”. “What the ADC has done is to, at least, dignify the man with an appointment. Whether he is able to attend to it or not is immaterial. But I am very happy that the ADC found it very necessary to put him on that list”.
Momodu also rejected allegations that El-Rufai pursued divisive politics during his tenure as Kaduna governor, noting that the former governor had previously enjoyed the support of the same political establishment now critical of him. “Barely four years ago, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai was busy campaigning for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was he not in government then? Did they find him divisive at the time or is it now that he is not in circulation? They just want to give a dog a bad name to hang it”.
The legal proceedings against El-Rufai continue on multiple fronts. The Federal High Court in Abuja recently reserved ruling on his no-case submission in a separate case involving the alleged unlawful interception of telephone communications of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, with the ruling fixed for October 26, 2026. His N1 billion fundamental rights suit against the ICPC, the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation was adjourned to October 27, 2026, for definite hearing. The ICPC has consistently denied that his detention is political, saying he remains in custody because he has not fulfilled his court-approved bail conditions.
The 2027 presidential election is scheduled for January 16, 2027, 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 Bola Tinubu is seeking a second term on the APC ticket, while Obi is contesting on the NDC platform with Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso as his running mate. As the campaign intensifies, the treatment of El-Rufai and the legality of his continued detention will remain a contested issue, and the coming weeks will determine whether the courts provide the resolution that Obi and Momodu have demanded.
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