“WHEN JUSTICE IS SELECTIVE: THE EL’RUFAI QUESTION NIGERIA CAN’T IGNORE
There is a difference between justice being done and justice feeling real.
And in the unfolding case against Nasir El-Rufai, many Nigerians are beginning to feel that difference more sharply than ever.
By Boniface Uzoma Chilaka
In a country where justice is expected to be blind, Nigerians are once again confronted with a troubling question:
Is the law still a shield for the people – or has it become a weapon in the hands of power?
The recent move by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to arraign former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has reignited a familiar tension in the Nigerian psyche – one shaped not just by what is done, but how it is done.
On paper, the charges are weighty: abuse of office, fraud, conversion of public property, and money laundering.
These are not trivial accusations. If proven, they demand accountability.
But here lies the dilemma.
For many Nigerians, this is not just about the charges – it is about the process.
Because justice, when stretched, delayed, or seemingly selective, begins to lose its moral authority.
The Burden of Perception
Under the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, there is a growing perception that institutions are no longer acting with equal weight and distance from power.
And perception, in a democracy, is not a small thing.
It is everything.
When one political figure is pursued with visible intensity while others appear untouched, the question is no longer legal – it becomes political.
When legal processes appear prolonged or opaque, the question is no longer procedural – it becomes moral.
Justice Must Not Only Be Done…
It must be seen to be done.
If El-Rufai is guilty, let the courts prove it – clearly, publicly, and without prejudice.
If he is innocent, let the same system clear him with equal transparency.
But what Nigeria cannot afford is a justice system that leaves citizens guessing.
Because once Nigerians begin to interpret every prosecution as a political move, the fight against corruption itself becomes weakened.
The Real Risk
The real danger is not that a former governor is being tried.
The real danger is that Nigerians are beginning to ask:
Why now?
Why this way?
Why him – and not others?
These are not questions of defiance.
They are questions born out of experience.
Beyond El-Rufai
This moment is bigger than one man.
It is about whether Nigeria’s institutions can still stand independent of influence…
Whether the rule of law can still rise above political convenience…
Whether justice can still be trusted.
Because when institutions lose credibility, even truth begins to look suspicious.
Final Word
Nigeria does not need selective justice.
It does not need dramatic arrests or symbolic prosecutions.
It needs something far more difficult –
consistency.
Until that is achieved, every high-profile case – no matter how valid – will continue to carry the same shadow:
Is this justice… or is this power at work?
