"I am gravely concerned at the manner in which these events have been conducted. It would seem no formal charges have been made against any of the individuals concerned.

“I had already been in touch with the Council of Ministers to raise my concerns about the current political situation in Nigeria in the run up to the elections next year.  On the basis of the information given to me and assuming that it is correct this latest action seems wholly improper and my concern is that it has the potential to lead to a breach of security and peace in Nigeria which could undermine the Government’s economic and political reform programme, international reputation and next year’s Presidential elections.

“To my knowledge there have been no formal charges against any of these individuals and no evidence of wrong-doing has been offered and I request that the Nigerian Government take immediate action to correct this serious situation.”

Calling for the immediate release of the four senior officials, he stated, “I have written to the Foreign Secretary and European Commissioner for External Relations to voice my concern about this latest development and to call for representations to be made at the earliest opportunity to the Nigerian Government about the detention of these senior officials”.  

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Notes to editors:

The four senior Members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly that have been held without charge are:

(1)     Hon. Muhammed Bawa Gusau, Speaker, Zamfara State House of Assembly
(2)     Hon. Namadi Isah Kasuwar Daji, Deputy Speaker, Zamfara State House of Assembly
(3)     Hon. Mohammed Muttaqa Rini, House Leader, Zamfara State House Assembly
(4)     Hon. Salisu Musa Tsafe, Chief Whip, Zamfara State House of Assembly

Under Nigerian law, the EFCC has no powers of seizure or arrest. If an arrest is to be made in relation to an EFCC investigation, that arrest must be carried out by the police. Furthermore, before the police can carry out the arrest, a court order must be obtained.

The Constitution of Nigeria also requires that these individuals must be charged or released within 24 hours. No charge has been brought, and there is no indication of their release. 

Recently some nine officials of the Zamfara State Government were also illegally detained by the EFCC for a period of almost two months, before being released without charge.