Press Release: El-Rufai issues public alert. Malam Nasir El-Rufai wishes to alert the public to certain malicious orchestrations directed against him. The unwarranted effort to arrest him upon his arrival at Abuja Airport from Cairo on 12 February 2026 served as a clear signal of more troubling developments to follow. On 16 February 2026, Malam El-Rufai honoured an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was detained, then transferred to the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the night of 18 February. He remains in detention and has been arraigned in two separate high courts.
On 18 April 2026, The Nation newspaper published a report headlined “El-Rufai’s trial: Gunmen invade principal witness home.” The article stated that Mohammed Umar Karage, a witness in the criminal proceedings at the Kaduna State High Court, had reported to the police that armed individuals had invaded his residence. While it is the civic duty of every citizen to report crimes to the authorities, it is an entirely different matter to publish false imputations against others.
The Nation proceeded to do precisely that by including innuendos suggestive of a plot to frame Malam Nasir El-Rufai. According to the report, Mr. Karage linked the incident to his role as a witness in the corruption charges against El-Rufai—specifically one of the nine counts involving the alleged unlawful revocation and reallocation of land. The article further quoted Mr. Karage as alleging that the invasion might be part of an effort to silence him, drawing parallels with the controversial disappearance of Kaduna-based activist Abubakar Idris Dadiyata.
Any objective reader would recognise the clear intent behind these statements: to smear Malam Nasir El-Rufai’s reputation, jeopardise his pending bail application at the Kaduna State High Court, and implicate him in serious capital offences. The evident objective is to secure his indefinite detention through these reprehensible tactics. Such conduct is unacceptable, particularly toward a citizen who has made substantial contributions to our country.
Malam Nasir El-Rufai is an upstanding and law-abiding citizen who has no connection whatsoever to the incidents described in The Nation’s publication. Therefore, he has already instructed his legal team to initiate defamation proceedings in this matter.
Since 2023, Malam El-Rufai has been subjected to an appalling and sustained campaign of innuendos and vilification. This is a man with a distinguished record of public service. Many will recall his sterling service to the cause of national unity through his principled opposition to opportunism, alongside other senior leaders, during the events leading to the 2022 primaries of the ruling party and thereafter.
The rule of law must never be perverted into a tool of oppression. Legal processes should serve the ends of justice, not be employed to deny a citizen his fundamental right to liberty while he stands trial. Malam Nasir El-Rufai should be accorded full due process guaranteed by law to every citizen, and the persistent disregard for his rights must cease immediately.
Signed
Muyiwa Adekeye
Media Adviser to Malam Nasir El-Rufai
19 April 2026
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