Nigeria, Feb. 28 -- Let us start with what we know.

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, former FCT minister under President Olusegun Obasanjo, and one-time director-general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, is under arrest. He is facing allegations of corruption and accusations under the Cybercrimes Act, including claims that he facilitated the tapping of the phone of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. He has denied all wrongdoing. He says this is political persecution; punishment for criticising a government he helped bring to power.

The courts will determine the legal truth.

But politics is rarely only about what is written on a charge sheet.

This story is not simply about El-Rufai. It is about...