‘The world is watching’ — IG Wala cautions judiciary over El-Rufai’s ‘impossible’ bail conditions

A human‑rights and anti‑corruption activist, Ibrahim Garba Wala, has warned the judiciary that the bail conditions imposed on former Kaduna State governor Nasir El‑Rufai are “impossible” and must be reviewed immediately.

Known publicly as IG Wala, he urged the judges overseeing the former governor’s case to live up to their reputation as the last safeguard of constitutional justice.

In a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja, Wala responded to recent remarks by the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, about the weaponisation of bail in the country. He said courts and law‑enforcement agencies have turned bail from a constitutional tool for ensuring trial attendance into a punitive instrument of pre‑trial incarceration.

He noted, “The stringent, near‑impossible conditions attached to El‑Rufai’s bail perfectly capture the institutional overreach condemned by the NBA leadership.”

“Requiring multiple sureties who must be serving federal civil servants on grade level 17; demanding original Certificates of Occupancy for landed properties worth hundreds of millions of naira in ultra‑expensive enclaves like Maitama or Asokoro; and forcing restrictive check‑ins at security headquarters create an insurmountable barrier to freedom,” he added.

“As the Court of Appeal clearly ruled in Dasuki v. DG, SSS, expecting civil servants to provide multi‑million naira properties is not only a logistical absurdity but also a flagrant violation of public service frameworks,” Wala said.

He argued that by keeping El‑Rufai structurally locked out of fulfilling his bail, detractors are achieving, through judicial frustration, what they cannot legally justify.

“The indefinite confinement of a citizen whose physical well‑being is actively at risk. This is no longer about accountability; it has evolved into a calculated strategy of physical and psychological attrition,” the activist said.

The statement called for an immediate review of El‑Rufai’s bail conditions, urging them to be realistic and achievable without requiring civil servants to become real‑estate moguls.