Paul Ibe, media aide to former Vise President Atiku Abubakar, has again raised the alarm over the plight of former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, stating that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain has spent 178 days in detention.
Ibe stated in an X post on Thursday that el-Rufai has been politically persecuted for daring to pull away from President Bola Tinubu whom he supported in the 2023 polls.
He also alleged double standards in the handling of political cases, pointing to embattled Senator Francis Fadahunsi who, he said, is “walking freely and yet-to-be arrested after calling on members of his own party to kill members of the Accord.”
He noted that several chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) facing corruption allegations similar to El-Rufai’s were currently walking free and posted photos of ex-governors Yahaya Bello and Ifeanyi Okowa.
“Even as el-Rufai is being detained, high profile members of Tinubu’s APC who are standing trial for corruption have been discharged and are running for election.
“What other evidence do you need to prove that Tinubu is fighting war against the OPPOSITION and not CORRUPTION,” he added.
This is not the first time that Ibe has commented on the length of detention of el-Rufai.
“Political persecution under the cover of a sham legal trial,” he said, citing the fact that the former governor had been detained for 144 days as of July 9.
Earlier, he had put the figure at 126 days, saying the Tinubu-led APC administration was “harassing and intimidating el-Rufai for having parted ways with the APC.
“Tinubu is allegedly bent on keeping him till after the 2027 elections,” Ibe had also alleged, describing the bail conditions granted el-Rufai as “too punitive and meant to keep him perpetually in detention”.
El-Rufai also faces separate criminal trials initiated by the Federal Government.
He is being prosecuted in Abuja by the Department of State Services (DSS) on charges of alleged phone wire-tapping and cybercrimes and by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) on charges of financial fraud and money laundering involving multi-billion naira.
He has been held in detention since February 18.