The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has urged the federal government and the judiciary to ensure fairness in the ongoing prosecution of Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State.
Gatekeepers News reports that the council expressed concern over recent developments surrounding the case, saying they had raised questions about the possible influence of religious considerations in the former governor’s prosecution.
Is-haq Oloyede, secretary-general of the NSCIA, made the position known in a statement, explaining that the council had previously refrained from commenting on the prosecution of El-Rufai and other political figures.
“The restraint was because the Council hitherto considered the prosecution as a standard judicial process and that the Judiciary has inherent capacity to uphold justice,” the statement reads.
However, Oloyede said recent developments had prompted the council to reconsider its position.
“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 NSCIA urged the federal government and the judiciary to ensure that religious considerations do not influence the legal proceedings against the former Kaduna governor.
The council also appealed to Nigerians to avoid inflammatory remarks that could undermine the fairness of the trial or worsen the country’s security situation.
“Furthermore, the Council appeals to the general public to refrain from incendiary comments that could prejudice the fair trial of Mallam El-Rufai or exacerbate the security situation in our nation,” the statement reads.
The NSCIA’s intervention comes days after Christopher Musa, minister of defence, accused El-Rufai of “doing a lot of terrible things in the state”.
Musa made the allegation during an interview on Channels Television on September 4, claiming that the former governor contributed to divisions between the northern and southern parts of Kaduna.
In response, El-Rufai’s family threatened to institute legal action against the defence minister if he failed to substantiate his allegations within seven days.
