Asiya el-Rufai: My husband’s detention is political, bail conditions impossible to meet
Asiya el-Rufai, one of the wives of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai, has alleged that political forces are behind her husband’s continued detention, describing the bail conditions imposed by the courts as difficult to fulfil.
Speaking on Arise Television on Wednesday, Asiya said the conditions attached to the former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister’s bail applications in Kaduna and Abuja were unrealistic and appeared designed to keep him in custody.
She explained that one of the bail conditions imposed by the Federal High Court in Kaduna required an attestation letter from the Kaduna Traditional Council, but the council declined to issue the document without giving any reason.
According to her, Justice Aikawa granted bail on the condition that two sureties provide N200 million each with properties of the same value located in Kaduna’s Government Reserved Area (GRA), alongside the traditional council’s attestation.
Asiya said the family’s efforts to meet the conditions were further frustrated because the Kaduna State Land Registry was closed at the time, preventing verification of property documents required for the bail process.
She also faulted the bail conditions set by the Federal High Court in Abuja, noting that the civil servant surety was required to own property in either Asokoro or Maitama, two of Abuja’s most expensive districts.
According to her, even civil servants who might possess such assets would be unwilling to stand as sureties because of the level of scrutiny involved.
“I don’t want to speculate, but as a Nigerian and as human beings, I don’t think it is wrong to say that there must be some politics going on,” she said.
Asiya added that her husband voluntarily returned to Nigeria to honour invitations from law enforcement agencies, arguing that he would have remained abroad if he intended to evade prosecution.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is prosecuting el-Rufai on separate criminal charges before the Kaduna High Court and the Federal High Court in Kaduna.
He is also facing prosecution by the Department of State Services (DSS) before the Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations of unlawful wiretapping.
