Nollywood veteran and politician Kenneth Okonkwo has accused President Bola Tinubu of persecuting former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai due to his membership in the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Okonkwo made the comments on Friday during an appearance on ‘The Morning Brief’, a programme aired on Channels Television, while discussing El-Rufai’s ongoing detention.
He stressed that the Federal Government does not have the authority to detain anyone beyond 48 hours without judicial approval. “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,” Okonkwo said.
The actor-politician further criticised the government for allegedly using anti-corruption agencies as political instruments against opposition figures. “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,” he added.
Okonkwo called for El-Rufai’s immediate release, while emphasising the importance of upholding fundamental human rights. “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,” he said.
He explained that under Nigerian law, authorities can hold a suspect for only 48 hours without bail, citing Supreme Court rulings. “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,” he said.
Okonkwo also highlighted the principles of criminal justice, noting that guilt must be proven by prosecution, not assumed by the state. “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,” he said.
“The duty of the prosecution is to prove the guilt of the suspect, not the suspect to defend his innocence. Somebody saying something does not give you the right to arrest anyone arbitrarily,” he concluded.
