The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has broken its silence on the legal battles of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, alleging that extraneous religious interests appear to be influencing his trial.
In a press statement signed by its secretary-general, Is-haq Oloyede, the Nigerian apex Islamic body urged the government and the Judiciary to prevent individuals with sectarian agendas from weaponising public institutions against the former governor.
The council stated that it refrained from commenting on the matter, viewing the legal proceedings as a standard judicial process, and trusting the court system to uphold justice.
“The restraint was because the Council hitherto considered the prosecution as a standard judicial process, and that the Judiciary has inherent capacity to uphold justice.
“However, recent developments in the public domain have raised serious concerns that strongly suggest an extraneous involvement of an underlying religious bias against the former Governor.
“Consequently, the Council calls upon the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Judiciary to ensure that individuals with vested religious interests are strictly prevented from weaponising public institutions or the legal system to execute a sectarian agenda against him.
“Furthermore, the Council appeals to the general public to refrain from incendiary comments that could prejudice the fair trial of Mallam El-Rufai or exacerbate the security situation in our nation,” the statement read.
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Background
The prosecution of Mr El-Rufai by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) stems primarily from recommendations made in a 2024 Kaduna State House of Assembly probe report, which accused his 2015–2023 administration of mismanaging public funds.
The ICPC has filed multiple charges against the former governor across both Federal and State courts,s including one in which he was accused of tapping the phone calls of National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Mr El-Rufai has pleaded not guilty to all charges, maintaining that his prosecution is politically motivated.
He remains in ICPC custody under court-authorised remand orders while his legal team challenges his continued detention.
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