The El-Rufai Support Group Association has taken the battle over former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai’s prolonged detention to the international stage, announcing the engagement of Vanguard Africa, a Washington DC-based advocacy organisation, to spearhead a campaign drawing global attention to what the group describes as a deepening crisis of due process and democratic governance in Nigeria.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, ERSGA said it had retained Vanguard Africa to coordinate targeted outreach to officials within the United States administration, members of Congress, relevant government agencies, pro-democracy institutions and multilateral stakeholders.

The arrangement was reflected in a regulatory filing published by the US Department of State, confirming the firm’s mandate to plan and execute engagements on behalf of ERSGA across key political and institutional corridors in Washington.

The group described El-Rufai as an accomplished reformer and senior statesman whose decades of public service stand in stark contrast to the allegations being levelled against him.

El-Rufai has been in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission since mid-February 2026, where he is facing allegations of abuse of office, money laundering, financial misconduct and fraud relating to his tenure as governor of Kaduna State.

The ICPC has maintained that his detention is based on valid court-ordered remand proceedings carried out in strict compliance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, and has dismissed suggestions of political motivation or procedural wrongdoing. The commission extended its initial 14-day remand order in early March following an application to continue investigations, with El-Rufai’s legal team subsequently challenging the extension in court.

ERSGA, however, categorically rejected the ICPC’s allegations, pointing to what it called alarming procedural irregularities and insisting the former governor is innocent. Speaking for the association, Mohammed Salihu framed the case as part of a broader systemic threat to Nigeria’s democratic institutions. He warned that the weaponisation of legal mechanisms to sideline opposition figures could gravely undermine the integrity of the electoral process as the country moves toward the 2027 general elections. “We are bringing these concerns to Washington because the international community has both the standing and the responsibility to speak plainly when due process is weaponized for political ends,” he said.

The group urged the United States government, international democratic institutions and civil society organisations to closely monitor developments in Nigeria and to actively defend judicial independence, the democratic space and the principles of free and fair elections. The move marks a significant escalation in the campaign around El-Rufai’s case and is likely to intensify scrutiny on the Tinubu administration from Western governments and human rights bodies ahead of a critical election cycle.