The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) of blocking its leaders from visiting Nasir El-Rufai, the former Kaduna State governor currently held in the commission’s custody. According to the party, a delegation comprising National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, and Salihu Lukman, who serves as secretary of the ADC Manifesto and Policy Committee, attempted to see El-Rufai at the ICPC facility but were turned away. The circumstances surrounding the denial remained unclear as of Friday afternoon.
This incident comes shortly after the ICPC refuted claims that El-Rufai was being deprived of food, family visits, and medical care. At a press briefing, ICPC spokesperson Okor Odey dismissed such allegations as baseless. He stated that the commission allows visitors between 9:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., and that El-Rufai’s wife arrived outside these hours. Odey further emphasized that authorized visitors, including relatives, legal counsel, and medical professionals, are granted supervised access.
However, the El-Rufai family has countered these assertions, alleging that the former governor has been barred from seeing his personal doctors, despite a Kaduna High Court order guaranteeing unrestricted access to legal representatives and physicians. A family member revealed that the ICPC’s in-house doctor had recommended further medical tests, but subsequent access was blocked. Hasiat, El-Rufai’s second wife, specifically claimed that he was denied follow-up consultations with the doctor.