Dalung Faults El-Rufai’s Surrender, Calls It ‘Greatest Mistake’ Ahead of Trial

Former Youth and Sports Minister Solomon Dalung has taken aim at Nasir El-Rufai, saying the ex-governor erred by surrendering himself to authorities instead of resisting arrest.

Speaking on Trust TV via YouTube, Dalung claimed the government had earlier failed in an attempt to detain El-Rufai at an airport, warning that a forceful arrest could have triggered unrest.

“The government is so scared of El-Rufai… They attempted at the airport and it failed and then they realized that trying to arrest him may instigate insurrection,” he said.

He maintained that surrendering weakened El-Rufai’s position.

“El-Rufai himself decided to downplay and surrender himself and that’s the greatest mistake he made as a comrade,” Dalung stated, adding: “Comrades don’t surrender… if you surrender yourself, you’re going to be humiliated.”

Yet, in a nuanced shift, Dalung suggested the move may have backfired against authorities instead.

“What he did was he behaved maturely and responsibly and they played into his trap… surrendering himself earlier denied them the opportunity to be able to frame up charges,” he said.

According to him, investigators were left scrambling: “They got him into custody but they didn’t have charges… so they started shopping for offences.”

Dalung concluded that the case against El-Rufai would collapse, arguing that “its foundation is built on illegality and not law.”

El-Rufai was re-arrested on February 18 by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission after a prior two-day detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over corruption claims.

He was later arraigned on Tuesday over allegations including N579.7 million in inflated severance payments and $817,900 in long-running deposits into his domiciliary account.

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