Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has called on Nigerians to shun violence and self-help, insisting that no individual has the right to take the law into their own hands, as he remains in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
El-Rufai made the remarks in a fresh video released by his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, amid mounting concerns over his continued detention and ongoing legal battle with federal anti-corruption agencies.
In the video, recorded before he honoured an invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the former governor acknowledged the possibility of prolonged detention.
“Hello fellow Nigerians. As I leave my home to honour the invitation of the EFCC, I am quite aware of the likelihood that I may be detained and it’s for an indeterminable length of time. So I thought I should leave a few messages for you so that we continue to communicate,” he said.
El-Rufai stressed that peaceful and lawful conduct remains the bedrock of any democratic society.
“Today I want to speak to you about a very important foundation of democratic society which is peaceful and lawful conduct. It is unacceptable for anyone to take the law into his or her own hands. We should abide by the law,” he said.
He urged citizens to channel private disputes to the courts and allow public institutions to handle broader grievances.
“We should conduct ourselves peacefully and lawfully and when we have disputes, private disputes, we should take them to the courts. Public disputes, the government will intervene. We also have the police and other law enforcement agencies to help arbitrate in the event of disputes,” he stated.
Warning against mob action and violent reprisals, El-Rufai said: “No one should take a machete to settle a quarrel. There are law enforcement agencies that we can report to. Yes, people may complain about the police, but it is the only police we have. So we should work to make it better.”
He added that Nigerians must hold law enforcement agencies accountable while remaining law-abiding.
“We should challenge the police to be better. We should challenge other law enforcement agencies to abide by the law and their rules of conduct and regulations,” he said.
According to him, even minor infractions contribute to a culture of lawlessness.
“Peaceful conduct is the foundation of every democracy and if we want to sustain this democracy, which will lead to the progress of our country, we must restrain ourselves from any kind of unlawful conduct, however minor. Whether it is driving on the wrong side of the road or beating traffic lights, these all amount to unlawful conduct and should be discouraged,” he said.
He concluded by appealing to Nigerians to uphold the rule of law at all times.
“So I want to appeal to all Nigerians to bear this in mind every single day, every single hour and every single second to continue to observe the law and engage in peaceful conduct at all times,” he added.
The video surfaced days after the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, refused to entertain El-Rufai’s bail application, describing it as premature.
Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik adjourned the matter until April 23, 2026, for proper arraignment.
A lawyer who witnessed the proceedings told SaharaReporters that the court declined to allow El-Rufai’s counsel to move the bail application.
“On the El-Rufai case, the court denied his counsel the right to move for his bail application just now. He stated the bail application is immature and he adjourned the case to the 23rd of April 2026 to arraign El-Rufai properly before the court,” the lawyer said.
El-Rufai was absent from court as he remained in ICPC custody.
Some chieftains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), including Bolaji Abdullahi, were present in court to observe proceedings.
The former governor had earlier filed a ₦1billion fundamental rights enforcement suit against the ICPC, the Chief Magistrate of the FCT Magistrate Court, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, alleging an unlawful invasion of his Abuja residence.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026 and filed on February 20, 2026, followed a February 19 operation in which ICPC operatives, accompanied by police officers, allegedly stormed his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, based on what his legal team described as a defective search warrant.
His counsel, Oluwole Iyamu, SAN, argued that the warrant lacked specificity and contained material errors, rendering it invalid.
El-Rufai’s camp has also raised concerns over his treatment in custody. Adekeye previously alleged that the former governor suffered a nosebleed while detained and was denied direct access to meals brought by family members.
The aide further claimed that El-Rufai was moved overnight from EFCC custody to the ICPC without prior notice to his lawyers or family.