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2 months ago
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Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has voiced serious concerns about the ongoing detention of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El‑Rufai.
The concern follows the Federal High Court’s decision not to review the bail conditions imposed on the former governor.
Atiku, speaking through spokesperson Phrank Shaibu, said the ruling raises unsettling questions about constitutional freedoms, the administration of justice, and the increasing use of legal mechanisms to target political rivals.
He added that while courts have the discretion to set bail conditions, that discretion must be applied fairly and reasonably. “Conditions that are manifestly excessive, unreasonable or impossible to meet defeat the purpose of bail and amount to a form of pre‑trial detention,” he said.
“The law is settled that an accused person remains innocent until proven guilty. Bail exists to preserve that constitutional protection. It was never designed to become a sophisticated instrument for punishment before conviction,” Atiku stated.
He questioned the practicality of conditions that would require a defendant to produce a serving Grade Level 17 federal civil servant who also owns verifiable property in Maitama or Asokoro and meet a series of additional, seemingly arbitrary, requirements. “Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: is the objective to grant bail or to ensure that bail remains unattainable?” he asked.
Atiku warned that such precedents pose a danger beyond El‑Rufai. “This is not merely about one individual. It is about the principles that underpin a democratic society governed by the rule of law. Today it is El‑Rufai. Tomorrow it could be any citizen whose liberty depends not on the law but on whether he can satisfy conditions that few Nigerians can ever meet,” he added.
According to DAILY POST, El‑Rufai is currently facing separate trials related to alleged corruption and national security breaches.
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