Five days to the well-publicised date of his return to the country, Nasir el-Rufa'i, former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has shelved the plan.

His lawyers, in a statement dated December 22, announced the decision.

The document, which was signed by one of the lawyers, Bamidele Aturu, stated that the former minister had to review his plans to return as "an overwhelming number of family and friends that had earlier supported the decision to return in December have urged a deferral as a result of the current leadership vacuum in Nigeria."

Hide and seek

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed an eight-count charge of criminal conspiracy and abuse of office against Mr. El-Rufa'i on May 6, 2009.

Also, on November 5, a warrant of arrest was issued by the Nigeria Police, which disclosed that he was wanted "for acts contrary to Sections 96, 120, 123 and 124 CAP 532 laws of the federation of Nigeria" as well as "some provisions of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act (of) 2000." But Mr. El-Rufa'i had consistently said he would be in the country before the end of the year to face all charges filed against him.

The most recent of these assertions was on December 8, when he wrote to the EFCC to criticise its request before a Federal High Court in Abuja to issue a bench warrant against him over his non-appearance in court.

In an e-mail to Femi Babafemi, spokesperson of the EFCC, Mr. El-Rufa'i wrote: "For the avoidance of any doubt, I am returning to Nigeria on the 27th of December, 2009. I will never be afraid to face a bunch of lackeys like you."

Why he is staying put

However, his lawyer, Mr. Aturu, told NEXT in an interview that "Mr. Nasir El-Rufa'i is not chickening out."

According to him, since the president is undergoing treatment in a Saudi Arabian hospital and didn't "transmit the mandatory declaration that he was going on vacation", he has violated section 145 of the constitution.

The statement added that, "Without compliance with that section, the vice president cannot act for the president in regard of any matter expressly needing the action or intervention of the president. Now, safety is one of such. Section 215 (3) of the constitution puts it beyond any peradventure that the president (not the vice president) has the duty of giving to the Inspector General of Police lawful directions with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety.

"The president has not delegated this important function of his to the vice president or to any minister. In the light of the uncertainty surrounding the exercise of public power in Nigeria in general, and security matters in particular, it would be decidedly unguarded for Mallam El-Rufa'i to return to Nigeria on 27 December 2009."

Self preservation

Mr. Aturu insisted that this was the major reason his client had chosen to stay away.

"Nobody can run away from the fact that we don't know who is in charge in Nigeria today," he said in the interview. "We don't know who is giving directions to the Inspector-General of Police. That means that the president, who ordinarily under the constitution supervises the Inspector General of Police and gives general direction on public safety and security, is not in the country; if anything happens to El-Rufai, then there will be nobody to bear the liability."

The lawyer said his client's decision is merely practical. "His safety is very important because at the end of the day, if the man comes to Nigeria and there is nobody fully in charge of security, then anything that happens to him... it would be stupid at the end of the day, and his family members would feel that he jettisoned their advice without any basis," he said.

Also listed as "crucial" to the suspension of Mr. El-Rufai's travel plans is "the fact that there is a proven plan to try him for treason,"

"A warrant to this end is freely circulating in the country. Now we all know that the offence of treason is a decidedly political offence and the decision to try anyone for treason is political. Some of the people tried for this offence in our recent history did not live to tell the story," the statement read.

When asked to explain further, Mr. El-Rufai's lawyer said; "look at the late Moshood Abiola; they charged him with treasonable felony and all of that, and he never came out alive. Look at Orkah; if Orkah didn't have the militants to assist him to put his issues in the front burner of international discourse, nobody knows whether he would have being released by now; the case was settled politically, because of the militants. (Mr. El-Rufai) is not chickening out. If you are charging a man with treason, which is a political offence, I think he needs to be very clear about how he wants to come back to Nigeria."

So, when will he return?

Mr. Aturu had no specific date for when Mr. El-Rufa'i would be back in the country. "That is a matter that has to be taken after consultations with my client," he said. "And he will look at all the political variables. There is no doubt that there is a lot of vendetta against him, but I can assure you he is very desirous of coming to Nigeria very soon; but he is the one that can take that decision as to time."

Mr. Aturu's statement also disclosed that the delay is also based on "the judgement of Mr. El-Rufai's international and Nigerian legal teams that a deferral of his return is advisable at this point so as not to adversely impact ongoing and planned litigations in Nigeria and abroad."

The document concluded by stating that "a new date will be communicated to the public based on the outcome of the legal steps we are initiating at his instance. He (Mr. El-Rufa'i) regrets whatever inconvenience this decision may cause his supporters and also the security forces who are already salivating at arresting him. They may yet have that opportunity, but first thing first. He is not afraid of arrest and detention. He has never been and he will never be."