EL-RUFAI AND THE RULE OF LAW

The trial of El-Rufai should be done according to the dictates of the law

Since former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, voluntarily honoured an invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 16 February 2026, his ordeal has been attracting public interest. The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) took him from the EFCC custody after two days and has since held him in detention. Red flags began to be raised when it took more than 30 days before the ICPC charged him to court, and the concerns around the El-Rufai matter are only growing. The offences for which he has been arraigned are bailable, to start with. If others facing the same allegations can be granted bail, there is no justification for holding El-Rufai in perpetuity. It is also not right or fair to wage a lawfare against him as it now appears to be the case.

Already, El-Rufai has clocked over 70 days in detention, during which he has been making the rounds of the courts in pursuit of bail, but seems no closer to regaining liberty. It is a sordid state of affairs when judicial processes are deemed to be manipulated by executive agencies to deny citizens’ liberty. Subjecting a defendant to prolonged pretrial detention violates our laws which are based on the presumption of innocence to everyone brought before the courts. Our laws also frown at the arrest and detention of suspected persons before investigation. In plain terms, this is what the ICPC has inflicted on El-Rufai.

While holding El-Rufai, the ICPC has tried every trick in the book to prolong his detention. The commission initially obtained a 14-day remand order under oath, undertaking to charge him to court within the duration of that order. That order expired without charges being filed. Rather, the ICPC went to secure another remand warrant. In the interval, the ICPC claimed in court documents to have recovered wiretapping equipment from El-Rufai’s residence. While the constitution grants a right to silence, the ICPC treated El-Rufai’s assertion of that constitutional right as evidence of non-cooperation and publicised it as one of their justifications for keeping him in custody. 

When the ICPC finally filed charges against El-Rufai towards the end of March 2026, it chose to do so before two courts: the Federal High Court, Kaduna, and the Kaduna State High Court. Yet El-Rufai’s arraignment in both courts has not brought him closer to liberty. On 21 April, the Kaduna State High Court denied him bail. Just a week after the Federal High Court, Kaduna, had granted him bail. Without prejudice to whatever case the state may have against El-Rufai, the defiance of due process and fundamental rights in this case is disturbing. Tossing El-Rufai from the State Security Service (SSS) to EFCC and back to ICPC looks more like an orchestrated political ping pong, raising questions as to the interest promoting the linkage of these state institutions around just one citizen.

The El-Rufai saga also focuses attention on the judiciary, especially the surprising levity with which applications for bail are treated. The courts are regarded as the home of justice and the upholders of the fundamental rights of citizens. But the courts have in this case shown that the practice is to adjourn for weeks to hear bail applications and to rule on them. Our courts should demonstrate a timely concern for the freedom of citizens. The courts should also not be indifferent when an individual is being recycled across courts by prosecutors who wish to use the process of arraignment and bail application to extend that individual’s time in custody and constrain their ability to defend themselves. It is also curious that journalists would be barred from the coverage of a civil trial.

Ours should not be a country where the enjoyment of constitutional protections for liberty and due process by any citizen should depend on whether or not that person is liked, especially by those in authority. In the run up to the 2027 elections, our judiciary must strive even harder to be seen as rising above petty politics in the discharge of its functions. It is a concerning matter whenever the rights of any citizen are wantonly abused. The heavy air of politics in the ongoing ordeal of Nasir el-Rufai is a danger to the credibility of our national institutions. El-Rufai is entitled to fair treatment. And he should be given one.

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The courts are regarded as the home of justice and the upholders of the fundamental rights of citizens. But the courts have in this case shown that the practice is to adjourn for weeks to hear bail applications and to rule on them

PIX: El-rufai detained.pdf