Amaechi Speaks on El-Rufai’s Continued Detention
Former Rivers State Governor and African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has criticised the continued detention of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
The former governor has described the bail conditions imposed on El-Rufai as impossible to meet.
Amaechi, who is a lawyer, questioned the logic of requiring El-Rufai to rely on people associated with the authorities prosecuting him as part of the conditions for securing his release.
Speaking on the matter, Amaechi said the situation raised serious concerns about the purpose of bail, particularly because El-Rufai had not been convicted of the allegations against him.
“I’m a lawyer, and it is difficult to speak about judges. We were taught in law school that if you want a man to be granted bail, you should not impose impossible conditions,” Amaechi said.
He argued that it would be difficult for an accused person to fulfil a bail condition requiring him to approach individuals linked to the government prosecuting his case.
“For instance, Emirs, traditional lawyers were appointed by the state government, which is prosecuting him. Then you say he should go to the same person who brought him to court to come and bail him out. Is that possible? You get the point,” he said.
Amaechi said the party or government pursuing a case against an accused person would naturally be seeking to ensure that the person faces the legal process, making it unrealistic to expect that same party to facilitate his release.
“The intention of the person who brought you to court is to put you away, rightfully or wrongfully,” he said.
“Then the court now says, ‘Go to him.’ One of the conditions is to go to that person to secure your release. How?”
The former governor said such conditions could defeat the purpose of granting bail, arguing that bail should not effectively amount to punishment before a court has determined the guilt or innocence of an accused person.
“That is why I said it is the kind of situation where the court puts El-Rufai in an impossible position. Those are impossible bail conditions. That is not the essence of bail,” Amaechi said.
According to him, the central purpose of bail is to prevent an accused person from being kept in custody unnecessarily while his case is being determined.
“The essence of bail is to look at, ‘Let’s not put this man away.’ What the bail is doing is making him serve his term when he has not been found guilty,” he said.
Amaechi added that continued detention could create the impression that an accused person was already being treated as guilty before the conclusion of his trial.
“So, it is as though the court is assuming that he is guilty of a crime, when, in fact, the court has not found him guilty. He has been there since February. That is so unfair,” he said.
El-Rufai is being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) before the Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations bordering on abuse of office, financial impropriety and fraud allegedly committed during his tenure as Kaduna governor. The former governor has denied wrongdoing.
His continued detention has also attracted attention from opposition figures, with former Vice President and 2027 presidential candidate of the ADC, Atiku Abubakar, recently disclosing that efforts were being made to secure his release.
Atiku said members of his team had remained in contact with El-Rufai while also providing support to his family during his ongoing legal battle.
“We are doing everything we can to see that El-Rufai is released. We visit him, send messages to him, and he also sends messages to us. We are also supporting his family,” Atiku said.
The former Kaduna governor has also filed a fresh N10 billion suit against the ICPC over alleged restrictions on his access to members of his family while in detention.
In the suit filed by his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, El-Rufai named the ICPC chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation as the second and third defendants respectively. The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026, was filed on August 13.
El-Rufai is seeking several reliefs, including declarations that his fundamental rights guaranteed under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution remain enforceable despite his detention.
He also alleged that he had repeatedly been prevented from receiving visits from his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba El-Rufai. He argued that the alleged restrictions were particularly harmful when family visits were needed to provide him with food, medication and other essential items.
