Kaduna Youths Stage Mass Protests Demanding Release of Former Governor El-Rufai

Youth groups across Kaduna State took to the streets on Wednesday in widespread protests demanding the immediate release of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai from detention.The demonstrators, drawn from various communities, converged on strategic locations within Kaduna metropolis and parts of Southern Kaduna, carrying placards with inscriptions such as "Free El-Rufai Now," "Justice for Our Leader," and "Kaduna Demands Governance, not Revenge."The protests followed the recent denial of bail to the former governor, who is being held by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).Speaking during the demonstration, Ibrahim Modibbo Sanusi, a leader of the Arewa Youth Movement, described El-Rufai's continuous detention as unjust and politically motivated."We are here to register our displeasure over the continued detention of our leader," Sanusi stated. "We demand his immediate and unconditional release. Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done."Sanusi warned that failure by authorities to address their demands could lead to further mass action. He threatened that the group would mobilise a one-million-man march in Abuja if the government failed to release the former governor.Southern Kaduna youths also joined the protest in Kafanchan, headquarters of Jema'a Local Government Area, in what organisers described as a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with the former governor.In Kaduna metropolis, protesters gathered at the Western Bye-pass, a major economic corridor, temporarily disrupting traffic. Security personnel were deployed to monitor the exercise and ensure it remained peaceful.The detention of El-Rufai has become a flashpoint in Kaduna State politics, with his supporters arguing that the charges against him are politically motivated while authorities maintain that the investigation follows due process.