‘Religious Bias’ – NSCIA Raises Alarm Over El-Rufai’s Continued Detention

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has raised concerns over the continued detention of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, alleging that religious interests may be playing a role in the case against him.

The council said recent developments had forced it to break its silence on the matter after deliberately staying away from the controversy surrounding the former governor’s detention.

In a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, the NSCIA said it had initially viewed El-Rufai’s prosecution as a normal judicial process and trusted the courts to deliver justice.

However, the council said recent comments and developments had raised concerns about possible external influence and religious bias in the matter.

The statement came after Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd.), accused El-Rufai of planning killings in Southern Kaduna while he was governor between 2015 and 2023.

Musa had also accused the former governor of taking actions that worsened divisions and contributed to insecurity in the state.

The Defence Minister described the situation in Kaduna during El-Rufai’s administration as ‘toxic’, adding that many residents of Southern Kaduna remained unhappy with the former governor over killings recorded in the area.

El-Rufai, through his family, rejected the allegation and demanded that the minister withdraw the claim.

His eldest son, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, who issued the statement on behalf of the family, gave Musa seven days to provide evidence supporting the allegation or publicly retract it.

Against this backdrop, the NSCIA said it could no longer remain silent.

The council 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.”

The Islamic body called on the Federal Government and the Judiciary to ensure that individuals with religious interests did not use public institutions or the legal system to pursue what it described as a sectarian agenda against El-Rufai.

It said, “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 NSCIA also urged Nigerians to avoid inflammatory comments that could affect El-Rufai’s trial or further worsen the country’s security situation.

The council maintained that the matter should be handled in a manner that protects justice and national stability.