Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has expressed serious concerns regarding what he considers a renewed attempt to vilify and re-arrest him after a news story connected him to an alleged intrusion at the home of a witness in his ongoing corruption trial.
In a statement released on Sunday by his spokesperson, Muyiwa Adekeye, El-Rufai responded to a report from The Nation, titled “El-Rufai’s trial: Gunmen invade principal witness’s home,” published on Saturday.
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The article featured allegations from Mohammed Umar Karage, a key prosecution witness in one of El-Rufai’s corruption cases at the Kaduna State High Court, claiming that armed men had broken into his home, suggesting that the incident was related to his involvement in the trial.
Adekeye rejected the claims in the report as a calculated effort to frame El-Rufai, labeling it as “targeted framing” intended to harm his reputation and rationalize his re-arrest.
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The spokesperson stated that the article fostered misleading suggestions that El-Rufai was responsible for the alleged attack, with the goal of undermining his ongoing bail application and entangling him in more severe charges.
“The clear aim is to achieve his prolonged detention through such unethical tactics,” the statement asserted.
Adekeye emphasized that El-Rufai had no involvement in the supposed invasion, characterizing him as a law-abiding and honorable citizen.
He noted that the former governor has directed his legal team to initiate defamation proceedings in response to the published claims.
El-Rufai reportedly faced detention in February after complying with an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and was subsequently moved to the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), where he currently faces corruption charges.
Last Tuesday, the Federal High Court in Kaduna granted him bail set at N200 million with two sureties following weeks of detention.
The ICPC has charged El-Rufai alongside Joel Adoga with multiple corruption offenses, including the unlawful revocation and reallocation of land, which both defendants have denied.
Adekeye also alleged that since 2023, El-Rufai has been subjected to a relentless campaign of defamation and political harassment, despite his notable record of public service.
He called for respect for the rule of law and urged authorities to refrain from using legal processes as tools of oppression.
“The ongoing violation of his rights must stop immediately,” the statement concluded.
