Phrank Shaibu, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to release former governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State if his continued detention has no connection with the 2027 presidential election.
Shaibu stated this during an interview on Arise Television’s News Insight, where he described El-Rufai as a “political prisoner of conscience”.
He questioned why a prominent political rival should remain in custody if the government is confident that he poses no electoral threat.
“If you guys truly believe El-Rufai poses no threat to Tinubu’s electoral quest, then release him,” Shaibu said.
“Let him test his strength in the open, and let Nigerians decide at the ballot who has the capacity to earn their mandate. If you are so confident, why keep a political rival off the field?”
El-Rufai has been in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission since February 2026 amid investigations and separate legal proceedings. The ICPC confirmed his detention on February 18, saying he was being held in connection with ongoing investigations.
The former governor is facing allegations arising from his tenure in Kaduna between 2015 and 2023, while the Department of State Services also brought a separate case against him over allegations involving the alleged interception of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu’s telephone communications.
Shaibu criticised the conditions attached to El-Rufai’s release, describing them as excessively stringent.
“El-Rufai is a political prisoner of conscience. The courts granted him bail, weeks rolling into months, and they gave impossible conditions to his release,” he said.
“We call it impossible because for whatever perceived offence they claimed he has committed, he deserves his freedom. A man is presumed guilty after he has been tried.”
The ICPC, however, has rejected claims that El-Rufai’s detention was politically motivated. The commission said in May that he remained in custody because he had not fulfilled his court-approved bail conditions.
Shaibu’s comments come against the backdrop of Atiku’s decision to appoint El-Rufai as deputy chairman of his 2027 Presidential Campaign Council, placing the former Kaduna governor within the opposition ADC’s campaign structure ahead of the presidential election.
El-Rufai has also recently spoken publicly about his prolonged legal difficulties. In a statement titled “My Relationships and the Aftermath” dated September 23, he said his ongoing ordeal had given him an opportunity to reassess some relationships with former colleagues, friends and associates.
He said he had supported people and causes over the years based on his faith, upbringing, personal values and conscience, rather than expectations of gratitude or reciprocity.
“Adversity has a way of illuminating relationships,” El-Rufai said, adding that his experiences could lead him to reconsider the nature of certain relationships.
He nevertheless said he had no regrets about standing by people or causes he believed in and would not seek revenge over what he regarded as injustice or injury.
“As for any injustice, ingratitude or injury done to me, I seek neither revenge nor retribution. Ultimate accountability belongs to Almighty Allah, and I leave that judgment to Him, in this world and in the Hereafter.
“In the end, each of us must live with the choices we make, and posterity will render whatever verdict it sees fit.
“My only concern is to remain at peace with my conscience and, above all, with Almighty Allah,” he said.
