Former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has asserted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government might be plotting his arrest amid rising political tension in the country.
News360 Info reports that El-Rufai, a former APC chieftain now a chieftain of the opposition African Democratic Congress, also claimed that some politicians were being pressured to either defect to the ruling party or remain within its fold.
He made the claims during an interview with BBC Hausa.
The former governor, who has recently intensified his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and the APC, said although he had not been arrested, some of his close associates had already been detained.
“Four people we worked with in Kaduna have been arrested; so it’s only a matter of time before they come for me too,” Daily Trust quoted El-Rufai saying in the said interview with BBC Hausa.
His remarks signal deepening political friction between the former governor and the party under which he served for eight years before defecting.
El-Rufai also alleged that political actors were being compelled to align with the ruling APC.
According to him, the pressure being mounted on politicians is part of a broader strategy to weaken opposition voices ahead of future political contests.
The development comes amid the arrest and ongoing trial of a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has accused Malami of offences including abuse of office and money laundering.
Authorities later rearrested him, alleging involvement in terrorism financing.
Malami, who is regarded as a key opposition figure to President Tinubu after defecting from the APC to the ADC, has denied the allegations, describing them as a political witch-hunt.
