Peterside calls out security agencies over El-Rufai’s detention

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Atedo Peterside

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Atedo Peterside, founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc and Anap Foundation, has condemned the continued detention of former Kaduna State Governor Malam Nasir El-Rufai without charging him to court.

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The banker accused the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, the Department of State Services, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of acting in concert to violate the Nigerian Constitution.

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Peterside made his position known in a post on X on Sunday, describing the development as one he and others had watched “in disbelief.”

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“Some of us have watched in disbelief as Government Agencies that we respected, such as the ICPC, DSS, and EFCC, appear to have conspired to incarcerate El-Rufai without charging him to Court, thereby violating the spirit and letter of the Nigerian Constitution,” he wrote.

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Peterside acknowledged his past disagreements with the former governor over the 2019 detention of Islamic Movement of Nigeria leader Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, but insisted that history did not diminish his obligation to speak out against injustice.

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“Even though I disagreed with El-Rufai as Kaduna State Governor over El-Zakzaky’s 2019 detention, I will still speak out against those ill-treating him today. Two wrongs do not make a right,” he stated.

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Drawing a line of consistency in his advocacy, Peterside noted that he had similarly spoken out when prominent figures including MKO Abiola, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Dele Farotimi, and activist Omoyele Sowore were detained, signalling that his intervention was principled rather than partisan.

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“If I am ever incarcerated, I will be at peace with my Lord, even if nobody calls out the authorities on my behalf,” he added, closing with a prayer for Nigeria’s deliverance from what he described as wicked leadership.

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Meanwhile, El-Rufai has pushed back against the ICPC, maintaining that the investigation targeting him is politically motivated.

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