Jafaru Ibrahim Sani, a former commissioner in the administration of ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai, was arrested by security agents in Kaduna on Thursday, just days after leaving the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Sani was reportedly picked up by officers from Operation Fushin KADA around 10:45 am, shortly after leaving his residence in the Kaduna metropolis.
Sources close to him said he was taken to a court on Daura Road before being remanded in a correctional facility.
Sani was among six former commissioners who recently resigned from the APC, following El-Rufai’s defection to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Efforts to get a response from the Kaduna State Police Command’s spokesperson, DSP Mansir Hassan, were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, El-Rufai has condemned the arrest, linking it to political persecution following Sani’s defection.
In a statement, El-Rufai alleged that Sani was taken away in broad daylight by individuals falsely posing as police officers.
He compared the incident to that of another former official, Bashir Saidu, who was allegedly detained for 50 days before being granted bail.
The former governor also claimed that Sani was remanded in prison without formal charges or a First Information Report (FIR) from the police or the Kaduna State Ministry of Justice.
He further disclosed that Sani is now facing money laundering charges, an offence he argued falls outside the jurisdiction of the state judiciary and police.
