Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the federal government’s continued detention of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and other opposition figures, describing the actions as state-sponsored cruelty.
Atiku made the remarks during his acceptance speech on Wednesday night shortly after winning the ADC presidential primary election.
He said, “As I speak, virtually all opposition political parties in the country have leadership crisis engineered by the APC government, the INEC and elements in the judiciary. And opposition figures continue to be harassed and intimidated, including those languishing in detention, such as Mallam Nasir El-Rufai who distinguished himself as a public servant, including as a Minister and two-term Governor of Kaduna State.
“He has been in detention for three months despite court orders granting him bail. He has been denied the right to celebrate two important religious holidays with his family in addition to being denied the opportunity to be by his mother’s side as she took her last breath. All because he is a leading opposition figure! This kind of cruelty must stop.
“The government continues to harass, intimidate and coerce opposition politicians to join the APC using the security agencies as well as the agencies which were set up by a previous government to fight corruption. Under this government, once a person joins the APC, the harassment ceases and the charges against them magically disappear. This abuse of power must stop.”
Atiku’s speech followed his sweeping victory in the party’s nationwide primaries, where the official figures from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) confirmed his victory.
Recall that immediately after clinching the ticket, Atiku also targeted President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election, telling journalists that the incumbent leader should “better pack and go back to Lagos.”