Atiku Decries El-Rufai’s Continued Detention, Warns Against Indirect Bail Denial

• Blasts Tinubu over Onanuga’s comment that no hunger in Nigeria

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar voiced concern over the continued detention of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, describing the bail conditions imposed on him as excessively stringent and potentially inconsistent with constitutional safeguards.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku stated that bail should serve as a mechanism for protecting the presumption of innocence rather than becoming an indirect means of incarceration.

He maintained that conditions attached to bail must be reasonable and attainable, warning that requirements that are difficult or impossible to meet effectively amount to a denial of bail.

According to him, the court’s insistence on conditions requiring a serving Grade Level 17 federal civil servant with verifiable property in high-value districts of Abuja, alongside other stringent requirements, has raised concerns about whether the objective was to grant bail or make release unattainable.

 Atiku stressed that the issue extended beyond El-Rufai’s personal circumstances, stressing that it touches on broader questions about the protection of civil liberties and the rule of law in a democratic society.

He said, “The law is settled that an accused person remains innocent until proven guilty. Bail exists to preserve that constitutional protection. It was never designed to become a sophisticated instrument for punishment before conviction.”

Atiku, in another statement by Shaibu, condemned the presidency’s latest attempt to blame the media for the worsening insecurity and economic hardship in the country, describing it as a dangerous exercise in denial by an administration increasingly detached from the realities confronting ordinary Nigerians.

Atiku said it was both astonishing and insulting that at a time when millions of Nigerians were struggling to survive, the Tinubu administration had chosen to attack the messenger rather than confront the message.

He stated, “The latest comments from the Presidency reveal a disturbing disconnect between those who govern and the people they govern. Nigerians are enduring one of the most difficult periods in our recent history.

“Yet, instead of acknowledging their pain and outlining practical solutions, the government is attempting to persuade citizens that what they see, hear, and experience every day is somehow an illusion created by the media.”

Atiku said Nigerians did not need journalists to tell them whether they were hungry.

He stated, “The father who goes to bed wondering how to provide the next meal for his family does not need a newspaper report to confirm hardship.

“The mother who now pays three or four times more for basic food items than she did two years ago does not require a television broadcast to understand inflation.

“The small business owner whose capital has been wiped out, the graduate trapped in unemployment, and the pensioner whose savings have become worthless do not need media interpretation to understand their circumstances.”