Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has visited former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and called for the release of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Atiku disclosed this in a post shared on his verified X handle on Monday, stating that the visit followed his return to Nigeria after performing Umrah in Saudi Arabia.
“I led a delegation on a solidarity visit to the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar
Malami, SAN, following my return to the country on Saturday night from Umrah (lesser Hajj),” he said.
The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party urged authorities to release El-Rufai and others he described as political detainees.
“I wish to serve notice to the authorities detaining former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and all other political detainees to release them henceforth,” Atiku stated.
He stressed that individuals should not be detained based on political differences.
“No one should be detained simply because they do not share the same ideology or political platform with the government of the day,” he added.
However, Atiku did not provide further details regarding the circumstances surrounding the alleged detentions.
Meanwhile, Malami is currently facing two separate cases, including allegations of terrorism financing, illegal possession of firearms, and an N8.7 billion fraud and money laundering charge.
The trial of the former Attorney General continued last Monday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where prosecution witnesses, including compliance officers from Union Bank and Access Bank, testified on financial transactions linked to accounts associated with Meethaq Hotels Ltd and Rayhaan Bustan, among others.
When the case was called, Malami and his wife were present in court, while their son joined proceedings shortly before the court stood the matter down for an hour.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik admitted several documents, including account statements and official correspondence from the banks, as exhibits in the case.
The matter was subsequently adjourned to April 20 for continuation of trial.
