“Bail Is A Right, Not A Privilege” — El-Rufai’s Wife Accuses FG Of Political Vendetta
The wife of former Kaduna State Governor, Asia El-Rufai Esq., has accused the Federal Government of political vendetta and prolonged detention of her husband, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.
Asia, who is a lawyer, spoke in a documentary released by The Justice For El-Rufai Project, where she questioned the timing and motive behind the prosecutorial investigations into El-Rufai’s tenure as governor.
She said her husband faced no accusation while he was in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, but investigations and threats started after he left the party.
“Before he left APC, he wasn’t accused of anything. When he left APC and joined SDP, there were questions, there were threats that we know. And then, when finally he was able to work on the coalition, the charges came,” she said.
She noted that El-Rufai pleaded not guilty to all charges in three courts and applied for bail in accordance with Sections 35 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
Asia decried that her husband was kept for a long time before being taken to court, despite the offences listed against him being bailable.
“He was kept for a long time before he was taken to court. The offenses that they listed out as his offenses are bailable offenses. The Supreme Court was very clear, and even the Nigerian Constitution is quite clear, that bail is not a privilege; it is a right,” she said.
Malam Nasir El-Rufai, former Governor of Kaduna State and former Minister of FCT, left the APC for the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and has been a key figure in the opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress, ADC, ahead of 2027.
His detention and prosecution have generated controversy, with his family and supporters describing it as politically motivated to weaken the opposition.
