SSS Releases El Rufai
Former FCT Minister, Mallam Nasir el Rufai, whose dramatic manhunt by the Department of State Security Services (SSS) became public knowledge has been allowed to go home after spending 15 hours with the Agency. After futile efforts were made to arrest him, El Rufai walked into the office of the SSS on Monday morning and he was detained. The SSS had declared el-Rufai, who is the interim Deputy Publicity Secretary of the opposition All Progressive Congress, APC, wanted on charges of making inciting comments on the forthcoming 2015 elections.
El Rufai had insisted on his lawyer seeing the arrest warrant before honouring the invitation of the Security outfit. The Agency’s operatives stormed his house in an attempt to forcefully whisk him to the SSS office.
El-Rufai honoured SSS ‘invitation in the company of Governor Rotimi Amaechi and other National leaders of APC including Senator Chris Ngige. While Amaechi and Ngige were allowed to go after some hours, El Rufai didn’t leave until 12. 30 am Tuesday morning .
This is actually what Nasir El-Rufai said that landed him in trouble:
“Clearly, we have seen a few by-elections in Delta and in Anambra… The level of preparedness of the electoral body was awful; bribery and the use of police and military was rampant. That was even just a by-elections in one or two states, so by the time we have a general election all over the country, its going to over stretch the capacity of the electoral commission and the security agencies.
“I have no confidence in the level of preparedness of the INEC, security agencies and others to conduct elections based on the experience of the other elections they have conducted so far, but they have the time to clear their act. It’s left to them.
“The ruling party is unwilling to hand over power even where it is clearly unpopular.
“This is what caused problems in the 2011 elections that we had post-elections violence. I see the same thing happening in 2015 unless elections are free and fair, unless INEC cleans up its act and organises free and fair elections, there will be violence.
“If people lose confidence in them, there will be violence, there will be riots and other related issues. But this can be prevented if those who are tasked with the job of security and impartial umpires discharge their responsibilities. However, based on what I see on ground, I don’t see that happening but we all pray that before then they will get it right.”
“It’s either you force yourself and force them out with your votes or you just wait and let them rig the elections.”