A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has alleged that the incarceration of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, contributed to the death of his mother.
Okonkwo made the claim while reacting to the circumstances surrounding El-Rufai’s detention and subsequent release.
The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission had earlier detained El-Rufai over alleged corruption during his time in office.
He was later arraigned before a Kaduna State High Court and granted bail.
While in custody, the former governor lost his mother and was subsequently granted administrative bail to attend her burial.
Speaking during an interview with Symponi TV, Okonkwo accused the All Progressives Congress of attempting to manipulate the judiciary.
“APC wants to use the lawyers and the judiciary; why am I saying that they want to use the judiciary?” he queried.
Citing El-Rufai’s case, Okonkwo insisted that the emotional impact of the former governor’s detention may have led to his mother’s death.
“I give you a good example of what happened in El-Rufai’s case; as far as I’m concerned, it’s the incarceration of El-Rufai that killed his mother,” he said.
He explained that elderly individuals are often emotionally vulnerable, adding that distressing news could have grave consequences.
“You know when mothers get to that age they are so sentimental, they become so emotional,” he stated.
Okonkwo recounted a personal experience to illustrate his point.
“Let me tell you, somebody told my mother that thieves stole from the houses of some of her children. She felt so bad that they had to call preachers to come and start preaching to her that nothing was wrong,” he said.
He added that the emotional toll on a 90-year-old woman could be devastating under such circumstances.
“Then you can imagine an aged woman of 90 years, and you are telling her that they arrested her son, some people might tell her that her son has died, that is what killed her, in my own opinion,” he added.
Okonkwo also questioned the timing of El-Rufai’s release, alleging inconsistency in the handling of the case.
“When the woman died, that is when they remembered that they would release El-Rufai without a court order, meaning that they are the ones using the judiciary, because you can’t disobey the order of the court,” he said.