A Caged Lion Is Still A Lion But More Dangerous. The Roar Does Not Die, It Echoes Louder—El-Rufai

Marking 246 days in anti-graft custody, former Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has issued a fiery statement from detention, characterizing his prolonged incarceration as a “political hostage situation” meant to silence opposition ahead of upcoming electoral campaigns.

El-Rufai voluntarily surrendered on February 18, 2026, to answer inquiries by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before being transferred to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

His detention, which has spanned nearly eight months, continues to generate intense political and legal friction nationwide.

Describing his incarceration as a targeted effort by political adversaries to suppress his voice ahead of the campaign cycle, the former governor stated:

“Today marks two hundred and forty-six days since Mallam Nasir El-Rufai voluntarily surrendered himself to an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and subsequently the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, on February 18, 2026, a detention that has now stretched through nearly eight months of a man who committed no crime other than refusing to kneel.”

He added; “A lot of people, supporters and even enemies alike, have registered their frustration at a spectacle that has long ceased to resemble justice and has become something closer to a political hostage situation. The campaign is about to start, and the paper tigers know it, which is precisely why the cage has not been opened.”

Warning his political opponents against underestimating the resolve of his supporters across Kaduna and the northern region, El-Rufai asserted that his detention has only galvanized public anger:

“They thought the cage would silence him. They thought the chains would make the people forget. They were wrong. A caged lion is still a lion but more dangerous. The roar does not die because the mouth is behind bars. It echoes louder. It travels farther. It wakes up those who were sleeping.”

“And in Kaduna, across the North, and through every corner of this country where people still believe that leadership is about service and not about swallowing the commonwealth, the people are waking up. They are watching. They are remembering. And they are angry.”

https://x.com/elrufai/status/2113191925192790328

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