The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has alleged external and religious forces in the continuous detention of the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai
In a statement by its Secretary-General, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, the council said it had deliberately stayed out of the controversy but was forced to make the statement due to recent events
Recall that the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), had in an interview alleged that El-Rufai planned killings in Southern Kaduna.
Musa had accused the former governor of taking actions that deepened divisions and contributed to insecurity in Kaduna State during his administration between 2015 and 2023
He also described the situation in the state during El-Rufai’s tenure as “toxic”, arguing that residents of Southern Kaduna remained unhappy with the former governor over the killings recorded in the area during his administration
But in a statement issued on his behalf by his family, the former governor denied the allegation and demanded retraction
The statement signed by Hon Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, eldest son of the former governor, said the family was seriously concerned by comments made by the Defence Minister and issued a seven-day ultimatum to him to provide evidence backing all allegations or publicly retract the claim.
The NSCIA said the development had made it to change its stance of refraining from commenting on the controversy surrounding El- Rufai’s detention because the Council hitherto considered the prosecution as a standard judicial process and that the Judiciary has inherent capacity to uphold justice
The statement said, “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 weaponizing public institutions or the legal system to execute a sectarian agenda against him”
The council also appealed to the general public to refrain from incendiary comments that could prejudice the fair trial of ElRufai or exacerbate the security situation in our nation
Th statement added, “May Almighty Allah grant peace, stability, and security to Nigeria”