Former Labour Party spokesperson Kenneth Okonkwo has linked the ongoing prosecution and detention of former Nigerian politician, former Nigeria governor, to his alignment with the Nigeria (ADC), alleging that the legal pressure against him is politically motivated.
Okonkwo, who now aligns with the ADC, alleged that the treatment meted out to the former governor amounts to persecution tied to his political association with the party.
The legal practitioner made these claims during an interview on Friday, maintaining that keeping a suspect in custody beyond the constitutionally permitted timeframe without granting bail raises serious concerns about the protection of fundamental rights.
According to him, law enforcement agencies are not empowered to hold individuals indefinitely while investigations are still underway.
“Forty-eight hours is the maximum period the government can keep someone in detention without granting bail. Authorities do not have the right to detain a person endlessly while saying investigations are ongoing,” he said.
Moreover, the ADC figure stressed that criminal liability must be established by investigators before an arrest is effected, insisting that the burden of proof rests squarely with the prosecution.
“We are not arguing that he should be shielded from prosecution,” Okonkwo said. “However, his constitutional rights must be respected. Our position is that he is being targeted because he joined the ADC.”
He further argued that questions of guilt or innocence should be decided by the judiciary rather than through prolonged detention by security agencies.
“It is the responsibility of the court to determine culpability, not the detention system of government,” he added.
During the interview, the programme anchor pressed Okonkwo on whether his comments implied that the president was influencing the situation, noting that bodies such as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and Department of State Services (DSS) operate as government institutions.
In response, Okonkwo maintained that these agencies ultimately function under the authority of the president Bola Tinubu as commander-in-chief.
“You mentioned agencies of government. The president heads the government and serves as commander-in-chief. Whatever the agencies do ultimately rests on his table,” he said.
Nevertheless, he reiterated that the ADC was not opposed to lawful prosecution if credible evidence exists against the former governor.
“If El-Rufai committed any offence, bring him before a court, grant him bail, and allow the legal process to run its course. Nobody in the ADC is opposed to the rule of law,” he said.
