He Made his Greatest Mistake - Dalung Faults El-Rufai
Last update: March 26, 2026
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Dalung criticises Nasir El-Rufai for voluntarily surrendering to authorities...
Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has described former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as having made a “great mistake” by surrendering himself to security agencies ahead of his trial.
CBI News reports that Dalung made the comments during an interview with Trust TV, posted on YouTube.
He alleged that authorities had initially attempted to arrest El-Rufai at the airport but failed.
“The government is so scared of El-Rufai, that was why they thought he was going to act, and they need to take him into custody. They attempted at the airport, and it failed, and then they realised that trying to arrest him may instigate insurrection,” Dalung said.
He criticised the former governor’s decision to voluntarily present himself, saying, “El-Rufai himself decided to downplay and surrender himself, and that’s the greatest mistake he made as a comrade.”
When asked what El-Rufai should have done, Dalung replied, “Comrades don’t surrender. During a struggle, if you surrender yourself, you’re going to be humiliated. It’s an established principle in struggle. When they suffer to get you, they become very careful.”
However, Dalung later suggested that El-Rufai’s decision may have complicated the authorities’ plans.
“What he did was he behaved maturely and responsibly, and they played into his trap because surrendering himself earlier denied them the opportunity to frame up charges and charge him. So, they got him into custody, but they didn’t have charges, and they have no offences on the ground. So, they started shopping for offences,” he said.
Dalung added, “El-Rufai’s trial will not result in anything because its foundation is built on illegality and not law.”
El-Rufai was re-arrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on February 18, shortly after being released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which had detained him for two days over corruption allegations.
He was arraigned on Tuesday over alleged inflated severance payments of ₦579.7 million and dollar-denominated deposits totaling $817,900 in his bank accounts.
