Former media aide to the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Lauretta Onochie, has condemned the continued detention of former Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Speaking via a post on 𝕏, Onochie demanded the immediate release of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain from detention.
She argued that the voice of the opposition must be heard, not silenced, lamenting that El-Rufai’s ordeal shows the machinery of state is being weaponised against opposition figures.
She wrote: “In every democracy, opposition voices must be challenged with ideas, not silenced with prison walls. When political participation becomes grounds for persecution, democracy itself is placed on trial.
“Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has now spent months in custody over what many Nigerians believe are politically motivated and trumped-up charges.
“Even more disturbing are reports that the path to his freedom comes with political conditions: return to the APC or abandon active politics entirely.
“That is not justice. That is coercion. That is political intimidation dressed up as due process.”
She noted that Nigeria cannot claim to be a democratic nation while dissenting voices are punished for refusing to bow.
She maintained that no citizen should have to negotiate freedom in exchange for political surrender.
“If there is a credible case against him, let it be heard openly, fairly, and speedily before a competent court. But continued detention under questionable circumstances only deepens public suspicion that the machinery of state is being weaponised against opposition figures.
“This is bigger than Nasir El-Rufai. It is about the soul of Nigerian democracy. It is about whether citizens are still free to disagree, contest power, and speak without fear.
“Mallam Nasir El-Rufai must be released immediately, even if on bail, pending the fair determination of his case.
“A democracy that jails opposition voices today may have no opposition left tomorrow. A nation without opposition is a nation under dictatorship,” she added.