A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, on Friday faulted the continued detention of a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai.
Okonkwo, who spoke on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, said El-Rufai’s detention violates constitutional provisions on fundamental human rights.
He noted that security agencies do not have the power to keep a suspect in detention under the guise of conducting investigations.
“That is illegal, and any such order is unconstitutional. So what I’m saying is that if El-Rufai committed any crime, please bring him to trial, grant him bail, so that if he is convicted, fine, nobody in ADC is quarrelling against the rule of law,” he said.
“The whole idea of arrest is that you have completed your investigation and found the person culpable for the crime you alleged he committed.
“It is the duty of the prosecution to prove the guilt of the suspect, not the suspect to defend his innocence,” he added.
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The lawyer argued that the former Federal Capital Territory minister’s rights must be respected.
“We are not saying he should not face trial. But his fundamental human rights should be guaranteed,” he stated.
Speaking further, Okonkwo alleged that El-Rufai’s ordeal might be politically motivated following his association with the ADC.
He also criticised the role of anti-corruption agencies, arguing that the ultimate responsibility for their actions rests with President Bola Tinubu.
Okonkwo said the “buck stops” with the nation’s commander-in-chief.
“He is being maltreated, he is being persecuted because he has joined ADC, and we are not exculpating anybody.
“And for now, he [Tinubu] is using his authority as the commander-in-chief to use the instrumentality of the anti-corruption agencies in courts because I wonder whether there is any commission fighting corruption in Tinubu’s regime,” the ADC chieftain added.
El-Rufai has been in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) since February 19, after his release by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
On Wednesday, a magistrate’s court sitting in Bwari, FCT, granted the ICPC a fresh order to detain him for another 14 days as investigations into allegations of money laundering and abuse of office deepen.
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