Former Governor Nasir El-Rufai says he feels abandoned and betrayed by close allies whom he helped and made sacrifices for in the past as he now languishes in detention over a wiretapping allegation.

“As for any injustice, ingratitude or injury done to me, I seek neither revenge nor retribution. Ultimate accountability belongs to Almighty Allah, and I leave that judgment to Him, in this world and in the Hereafter,” Mr El-Rufai, who has been held in detention for 218 days, said in a statement posted on social media.

According to the former Kaduna governor, though he stood by people based on his convictions, he does not expect friends he stood by to stand by him.

“Over the years, I have stood by people and for causes I believed in, sometimes in difficult circumstances and at considerable personal cost. I did so not in expectation of praise, gratitude or reciprocity, but because I believed it was right. Those were choices I made freely, and I remain answerable for them,” Mr El-Rufai said.

He added, “Adversity has a way of illuminating relationships. What I learn in difficult times like the past few months may lead me, quietly and without regret, to reconsider the nature of certain relationships and what those that look up to me expect of them. That is neither reproach nor condemnation; it is simply part of seeing people, and life, more clearly.”

Mr El-Rufai has remained in detention since February 18 following a probe by the anti-graft agency into alleged N432 billion money laundering based on a petition by the Kaduna State House of Assembly.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said it was keeping the former governor in detention under a court remand order. He was briefly released in March to attend his late mother’s burial.

Mr El-Rufai admitted in an interview to tapping the telephone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.