Atiku aide calls for El-Rufai release if no electoral threat to Tinubu

Phrank Shaibu, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has described former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai as a “political prisoner of conscience.”Speaking on Arise Television’s News Insight, Shaibu called on President Bola Tinubu to release El-Rufai if he poses no threat to the 2027 elections.El-Rufai was first arrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on February 18, 2026, over alleged fraud during his tenure as governor between 2015 and 2023. He has since faced multiple charges and re-arrests by both the ICPC and the Department of State Services (DSS), including allegations of contract fraud, cybercrime, and phone-tapping involving National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.On May 18, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted El-Rufai ₦100 million bail in a case filed by the DSS, but Shaibu argued that the bail conditions were “impossible” and deliberately designed to keep him in custody.Shaibu stated: “El-Rufai is a political prisoner of conscience. If you truly believe he poses no threat to Tinubu’s electoral quest, then release him. Let him test his strength in the open, and let Nigerians decide at the ballot who has the capacity to earn their mandate.”He insisted that keeping El-Rufai off the political field undermines democratic competition and urged the government to respect constitutional rights.

Phrank Shaibu, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar has described the former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai as a political prisoner of conscience. Shaibu charged President Bola Tinubu to release El-Rufai if he poses no threat to him in the 2027 election. He made […] 2027: El-Rufai political prisoner, release him if he poses no threat – Atiku’s aide to Tinubu