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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has urged authorities to ensure justice and transparency in the prosecution of former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.Â
Malami was arraigned on money-laundering charges, which prosecutors allege he and his associates concealed and disguised the unlawful origin of about ₦8.7 billion and acquired properties with suspected proceeds of unlawful activities, contrary to Nigeria’s anti-money-laundering laws.
The former AGF also faces allegations related to terrorism financing. Prosecutors accuse Malami of failing to prosecute terrorism financiers when he was Attorney-General.
El-Rufai, on the other hand, has been in and out of the custody of the Department of State Security (DSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
He is facing a three‑count criminal charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS), accusing him of unlawfully intercepting telephone communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, based on comments he made during a televised interview.
The duo, who are facing different charges, have pleaded not guilty to the allegations, and their trials have been postponed.
Reacting to these cases, ADC Spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi, in a post shared on X on Tuesday, said a sequence of enforcement actions in the duo’s prosecution has raised serious public concern about consistency and fairness.
“As a law-abiding party, it is important to state for the record that the ADC believes no citizen, regardless of stature or past office, is above the law,” Bolaji wrote.
“However, in a constitutional democracy where the law is seen to operate selectively, it becomes imperative to insist, firmly and without apology, that justice must be applied evenly, transparently, and without political calculation, particularly in cases such as those involving Abubakar Malami and Nasir El-Rufai, where the manner, speed, and sequence of enforcement actions have understandably raised serious public concern about consistency and fairness.”
The ADC Spokesperson cited a recent high-profile case involving passport forgery allegations, international conspiracy, impersonation, and the alleged use of a disputed international passport in support of a property claim in London. He noted that the accused in this case was granted bail after pleading innocent.
“Yet, in the cases involving Abubakar Malami and Nasir El-Rufai, we have witnessed prolonged custodial movements, inter-agency transfers, and processes that appear to precede, rather than follow, fully crystallised prosecution,” he added.
He added that the ADC will continue to support Malami and El-Rufai and ensure they are not denied the protections they are lawfully entitled to.
