Nigeria At 66: Rule Of Law: Atiku Demands Fair Trial For Nnamdi Kanu, Due Process For El-Rufai, Sheikh Zaria, Freedom For 5 ‘Tinubu Must Go’ Youths
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has urged President Bola Tinubu to address the grievances of convicted secessionist leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and answer questions over continued detention of Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
Atiku made the call on Thursday in Abuja in his Independence Day State of the Nation address marking Nigeria’s 66th anniversary.
“On this day, I call for the rule of law to be applied fairly in every case. The continued detention of Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai raises questions about due process that the authorities must answer,” he said.
On Kanu, he said, “Following Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s conviction, his right to lawful appeal must be respected, while the grievances and divisions surrounding his case must be addressed seriously.”
Atiku also repeated his call for the release of five young Nigerians arrested in Borno after wearing “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts.
“A political slogan on a shirt must never become a reason to imprison a Nigerian,” he said.
He said Nigeria has derailed under Tinubu, with the past three years plunging the country into its most severe cost of living crisis.
He faulted Tinubu’s declaration that “emergency treatment is over” and “age of prosperity” has begun, saying “A president may announce a new chapter in a speech. He cannot put food onto a family’s table.”
Atiku also flayed the extension of the 2025 budget to Dec 31, 2026, querying how many budgets will be open at once.
He tackled APC Chairman Prof Nentawe Yilwatda over claim that 10 million Nigerians received N75,000 each (N750bn total) — asking how people without phones in Yobe and Borno were identified and paid.
On fuel, he noted N30,000 minimum wage bought 118 litres in April 2023, but N70,000 today buys only 50 litres, with egg rising from N88 to N261 and bread from N500 to N2,000.
He promised a capped, budgeted production subsidy tied to verified fuel refined in Nigeria including modular refineries, excluding imported fuel, if elected.
