‘Let El-Rufai Settle His Scores with APC Govt He Imposed on Nigerians, People are Suffering’

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

A Kaduna-based legal practitioner and former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mark Jacob, has said that former Kaduna State Governor, Malami Nasir El-Rufai, should be ignored because he is only trying to gain the attention of Nigerians.

Speaking on the recent arrest of the former governor by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the former PDP Legal Adviser said: “El-Rufai wants to be heard, and the more attention you give to him, the more he enjoys it. He should be ignored and allowed to fight the battle with the APC he brought to power.”

He added: “El-Rufai has boasted over and over in the past that they are the owners of the North and Nigeria, and that they are the movers and shakers of APC. When he was celebrating the Muslim/Muslim victory, he boasted that it was just a testing ground for the grand design they have for the country, so that after they have implemented the Muslim/Muslim issue in Kaduna and takenit to the national level, they will perpetuate their holding to power both in Kaduna and Nigeria.

“So whatever a man sows, so shall he reap. I see everything going on as the grand design of the APC. The whole thing happening is the law of Kama, and it will catch up with everybody.”

Mark advised that when one is in power, one has to be careful, especially in a democratic process like Niger,ia where power is for a short period.

According to him, “The APC that El-Rufai, Bola Tinubu, Mohammad Buhari and others gave birth to is an evil contraction that means no good to anybody. That is all the more reason why Nigerians have been suffering since 2015.

“Everything this country laboured for has been destroyed. Both at the national and international levels. Nigeria has missed it, and we have become a laughing stock, and nobody takes Nigeria seriously anywhere in the world.

“We have no value; we are just a setup. The world looks at us and shakes its head because Nigeria was projected to provide leadership in Africa. Sadly, those in power do not seem to realize the position they have brought Nigeria to. They are not bothered about what happens in the country but are busy driving the most expensive cars and getting readyfor ther 2027 general elections.”

He explained that the arrest of  El-Rufai by the EFCC does not add anything or subtract anything from society, saying that the pains the citizens of Kaduna State are passing through, where civil servants are not sure of their future, was enough reason to wave aside the controversy.

The legal practitioner stressed that people are just living in fear over insecurity across the state.

“These are issues that should take the centre stage in the state,” lamenting that the civil service has been destroyed by the APC w, with jobs taken over by contractors. “What is the hope of the common man? It should be the issue to be looked into with a view to putting things in place for the overall benefits of the people,” he said.

He added that:  “An analyst, Suleiman Abubukar, said: ‘The strength of any democracy lies in its respect for the rule of law. No individual, no matter how highly placed or politically influential, should be above legal scrutiny.

“When a public figure openly admits on national television that a phone belonging to the National Security Adviser was tapped for his benefit, the matter ceases to be political rhetoric and becomes a serious legal concern.”

According to Mark, the former Kaduna State governor, reportedly acknowledged during a television interview that someone tapped the phone of the National Security Adviser so he could listen to a private conversation, saying that when veteran journalist Charles Aniagolu pointed out that such an act was illegal, El-Rufai agreed.  He opined that: “This is not a trivial issue. The office of the National Security Adviser plays a central role in safeguarding Nigeria’s security framework. If the communication of such a sensitive office can be illegally intercepted, it raises disturbing questions about national security, institutional protection, and the rule of law.

“In any serious society, an admission of involvement in illegal surveillance would immediately trigger investigation. Who carried out the tapping? Under whose authority was it done? Was it sanctioned by any lawful court order, or was it a rogue operation? These are not political questions; they are legal and security questions that demand answers.”

Calling for arrest and questioning in this context, according to him, is not persecutionbutt it is a demand for accountability, stressing that if an ordinary citizen admitted to participating in an illegal interception of a top security official’s communication, that citizen would certainly be invited for questioning, and the same standard must apply to a former governor.

The analyst stated that Nigeria cannot afford selective justice as the integrity of state institutions depends on equal application of the law, pointing out that if the allegation is unfounded or misrepresented, a proper investigation would clear the air, but silence or inaction would only deepen public distrust and create the impression that some individuals are untouchable.”