Nollywood actor cum politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, has claimed that former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, is being maltreated and persecuted by President Bola Tinubu for choosing to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Papers News reports that Okonkwo made this statement on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s ‘The Morning Brief’ programme.
Faulting the detention of El-Rufai, the ADC chieftain stressed that the Federal Government does not have the power to keep anyone in detention beyond 48 hours.
Kenneth Okonkwo maintained that the party is not stopping Tinubu from investigating El-Rufai, but the Governor’s fundamental right should be guaranteed.
He said, “We believe that El-Rufai is being maltreated and persecuted because he had joined the ADC. We are not exculpating anybody, but it is the court of law that should decide, not President Tinubu.
“And for now, he is using his authority as the Commander-in-Chief to use the instrumentality of the ‘anti corruption’ against the opposition. I wonder whether there is any commission fighting corruption in Tinubu’s regime
“The first thing President Bola Tinubu should do is to release El-Rufai. We are not saying he should not face trial but his fundamental human right should be guaranteed.
“Forty-eight hours is what a government has to keep anybody in detention without granting him bail. No, you don’t have that power. And you don’t have the power according to the Supreme Court judgment to keep somebody in detention and pretend you are investigating.
“The whole idea of arrest is that you have concluded your investigation and you have found the person culpable for any crime you are alleging he committed.
“That somebody said anything does not give you the right to go and arrest somebody, because in criminal proceeding, it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the guilt of the suspect, not the suspect to defend his innocence.”
