- Safiu Kehinde
Former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has released a video of his last public address before honouring the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
NPO Reported that El-Rufai had last month appeared at the EFCC’s custody following invitation for probe over alleged financial misappropriation during his tenure as Kaduna governor.
This came days after his attempted arrest by security operatives on his arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja.
The incident would be followed by his confession on Arise TV ‘s Prime Time programme where he disclosed tapping into the telephone conversation of the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, while defending his claim that the security operatives were sent by the NSA to arrest him on arrival from Cairo, Egypt.
This had sparked controversies and mixed reactions with calls for his arrest.
Meanwhile, prior to his appearance before the EFCC, El-Rufai made a video addressing Nigerians as he prepares for the anti-graft agency’s probe.
As captured in the video shared on X on Sunday by his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, El-Rufai disclosed being aware of the tendency of his detention.
He however advised Nigerians on the need to embrace peaceful and lawful conduct.
The former Kaduna governor, who is largely known for his fiery and untainted speeches, preached peace and legal resolution of private dispute.
“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 an undeterminable length of time.
“So, I thought I should leave a few messages for you so that we continue to communicate.
“Today, I want to speak to you about a very important foundation of democratic society which is peaceful and lawful conduct. It unacceptable for anyone to take the law into his or her own hands.
“We should abide by the law. We should conduct ourselves peacefully and lawfully. And when we have private dispute, we should take them to the court. Public dispute, the government will intervene.” He said.
El-Rufai further noted the presence of the Nigerian Police Force and other law enforcement agencies as other arbitrators in settlement of dispute.
He urged Nigerians to report cases to them rather than taking laws into the hands.
“We also have the police and other law enforcement agencies to help arbitrate the event of dispute. 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 police we have. So, we should work to make it better.
“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.
The former All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain reiterated his advocacy for peaceful conduct which he labelled the foundation of democracy.
“Peaceful conduct is the foundation of every democracy. If we want to sustain this democracy, we must restrain ourselves from any kind of unlawful conduct.
“I want to appeal to all Nigerians to bear this in mind every single day, every single hour, every single second to continue to observe the law and engage in peaceful conduct at all times.” El-Rufai added.