El-Rufai Marks 256 Days In Detention, Demands Fair Trial, Calls On Trump And Macron To Intervene

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has marked 256 days in detention by publicly demanding a fair trial and calling on international leaders, including US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, to intervene in his case.

In a post on his verified X account on Friday, El-Rufai insisted that his prolonged custody was a violation of his fundamental rights and alleged that he was being targeted for speaking truth to power.

“Today, exactly 256 days El-Rufai is in detention. Human rights not a favour, a fair trial is not an act of mercy. It is not a privilege. It is a fundamental human right,” the post stated.

The appeal was made under the hashtag #FairTrial and tagged not only Trump and Macron but also the United Nations, the UN Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, the European Union, and the African Union.

El-Rufai also tagged several international media organizations, including CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, The New York Times, and The Economist, in an apparent bid to draw global attention to his legal predicament.

The former governor’s call for international intervention comes just days after the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed his no-case submission in a criminal case instituted by the Department of State Services (DSS).

The case concerns allegations of unlawful interception of telephone communications involving National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled on October 26 that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to require El-Rufai to enter his defence, adjourning the matter until November 25.

El-Rufai has been in custody since February 2026, when he was initially arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of financial mismanagement during his eight-year tenure as Kaduna governor from 2015 to 2023.

He was subsequently transferred to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

He faces separate allegations of money laundering and abuse of office involving approximately N432 billion, following a petition by the Kaduna State House of Assembly.

His attempts to secure release have suffered setbacks. On October 9, the Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna dismissed his appeal challenging the refusal of his second bail application by the Kaduna State High Court, with the three-member panel holding that he failed to establish fresh facts or special circumstances to warrant overturning the lower court’s decision.

El-Rufai was briefly released in March on compassionate grounds to attend his mother’s burial before returning to custody.

The ICPC has maintained that El-Rufai’s detention was authorized by court-issued remand orders and that its investigation is being conducted in accordance with the law.

The allegations against him remain subject to judicial determination, and the court’s dismissal of his no-case submission does not amount to a conviction.

There has been no immediate indication that either President Trump or President Macron has responded to the appeal.