144 Days: “Release El-Rufai unconditionally” — Atiku’s aide tells Tinubu

Paul Ibe, media aide to Africa Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Bola Tinubu to review the continued detention of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, describing it as unfair and urging the President to order his release.

The remarks were contained in a statement posted on Ibe’s official page on July 9, 2026.

According to Ibe, leadership requires responsibility and accountability, stressing that political power should be used for the public good and not to intimidate citizens. 

He argued that El-Rufai’s detention, which he said has lasted 144 days, should be reconsidered.

“Responsibility and accountability are key departments of leadership. When leaders wield power, it must be done for public good and not to oppress and intimidate citizens,” Ibe stated.

He maintained that his position was not influenced by El-Rufai’s political affiliation, but by what he described as the need for fairness and respect for the rights of every Nigerian citizen.

“The former Kaduna State Governor is a political prisoner who has now spent 144 days in custody. Tinubu needs to reflect on the transient nature of power and do the needful.

“It is against this backdrop that President Bola Tinubu @officialABAT needs to review the political persecution of Mallam Nasir el-Rufai @elrufai. Yes, it is a political persecution under the guise of a sham legal trial.

“My position is not borne out of the fact that El-Rufai is a leading figure in the coalition ADC. But because he is a Nigerian citizen, who deserves to be treated fairly and with dignity.

“This same position would have been canvassed if El-Rufai were of the ruling party or of no party. I think it is beneath the President’s office to use instruments of the state to cause for the perpetual detention of Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.

“The least President Tinubu can do is to heed the passionate appeal of el-Rufai’s wives and release him unconditionally,” he stated.