Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress APC, Timi Frank, has called on the United States government and the international community to intervene in Nigeria over the detention of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and businessman Tunde Ayeni.
Frank, who serves as the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, made the appeal in a statement issued on Sunday.
He warned that Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies had been weaponized for political persecution and that opposition figures faced a pattern of targeted harassment ahead of the 2027 elections.
Frank also cautioned that nothing untoward must happen to the former governor, saying he must be released in good health.
“It is for this reason that I call on the United States government, the international community, and global human rights organizations to pay close attention and intervene where necessary to protect Nigerians from intimidation, harassment, and abuse of state power,” he said.
He warned that should any harm befall the former governor after release, culpability would extend to the government, the officials named in the scheme, and any judicial officer found to have facilitated prolonged detention through prohibitive bail conditions.
“This alleged plan must be stopped immediately. If anything happens to El-Rufai, even after his release from detention, the government, top appointees involved, and any judge who may have collaborated in the process should be held responsible,” he declared.
Frank argued that El-Rufai’s detention, now exceeding four months on what he described as ordinarily bailable allegations, was driven by the former governor’s political weight and his insider knowledge of the events surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s election victory in 2023.
“They understand El-Rufai’s political relevance, influence, and what he knows, especially considering that he was part of the political structure that worked toward the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the last election,” he said.
On Ayeni, Frank said the businessman had been discharged by courts in previous EFCC cases and that his current detention of roughly 30 days was the work of associates who had repositioned themselves within government circles.
“Tunde Ayeni is a businessman, not a politician. His experience appears to many as a witch-hunt designed to weaken him because of his perceived support for the opposition. Friends and business associates who have suddenly become close to government officials are behind his incarceration,” Frank alleged.
To press his case internationally, he disclosed that he was compiling the names of government and security officials allegedly involved in the harassment and intimidation of opposition figures, with plans to forward those names to the US government and other relevant international authorities.
He also called for targeted sanctions — covering visa restrictions, asset freezes, and financial penalties — against any officials found culpable in undermining democratic freedoms.
“As part of the broader international response, I call for targeted sanctions against any officials found to be involved in abuses directed at opposition figures or the suppression of democratic freedoms.
“When citizens lose faith in democratic processes, instability, extremism and social unrest often increase,” he cautioned.
