Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has criticised the decision of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to surrender himself to security agencies ahead of his trial, describing it as a major strategic error.
Speaking during an interview on Trust TV, Dalung alleged that authorities initially attempted to arrest El-Rufai at the airport but were unsuccessful. According to him, the government was wary of potential backlash and feared that a forceful arrest could trigger unrest.
Dalung argued that by voluntarily submitting himself, El-Rufai weakened his position in what he described as a political struggle. He maintained that in such situations, resistance often forces authorities to act more cautiously. “Comrades don’t surrender,” he said, adding that surrendering could expose individuals to humiliation and weaken their negotiating power.
However, Dalung later adopted a more nuanced position, suggesting that El-Rufai’s decision may have inadvertently worked in his favour. He claimed that by surrendering early, the former governor denied authorities the opportunity to properly build a case against him. As a result, he alleged that investigators were left scrambling to establish credible charges.
Dalung further asserted that the case against El-Rufai lacks a solid legal foundation, predicting that the trial may not lead to any meaningful outcome. According to him, the process is flawed and driven more by political motives than by established legal principles.
El-Rufai’s legal troubles intensified following his re-arrest by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on February 18, shortly after his release from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), where he had been held for two days over corruption allegations.
He was subsequently arraigned on charges related to alleged inflated severance payments amounting to N579.7 million, as well as claims of long-term fraudulent deposits totalling $817,900 in his domiciliary account.
As the case unfolds, analysts suggest it could become a significant test of Nigeria’s anti-corruption framework and the broader intersection between law and politics.
