Family members of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday, protested at the headquarters of the State Security Service (SSS) in Abuja over his continued detention and alleged breach of court orders.
They were joined by the senator representing Kaduna Central, Lawal Adamu, and other supporters who demanded the immediate return of Mr El-Rufai to the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The family said they were alarmed that the former governor was taken into SSS custody instead of returning him to the ICPC as ordered by the court.
They said two subsisting court orders from the High Court of Kaduna State required that he be remanded in ICPC custody.
Mr El-Rufai’s wife, Asiya El-Rufai, who spoke to journalists outside the SSS facility, said the family lived under constant fear and surveillance.
“We now live in constant fear. Every day we get a threat. DSS (SSS) is coming to raid your house, ICPC is coming to raid your house, police are coming to raid your house. You are being followed. Our phones are tapped,” said Mrs El-Rufai.
She said Mr El-Rufai appeared before Judge Joyce AbdulMalik of the Federal High Court, who granted bail.
According to her, during the break, Mr El-Rufai was taken to the SSS facility, a move he resisted.
“He said to them, ‘I am not going to step down because there are two court orders that the Kaduna court gave that I should be remanded in ICPC. Why are you bringing me here?’ He said, ‘I am not a furniture to be moved,’” Mrs El-Rufai said.
She said Mr El-Rufai was later returned to ICPC custody but was again taken to the SSS after the afternoon session of the court.
As of the time she spoke, she said Mr El-Rufai had refused to step out of the vehicle on the SSS premises.
“He told them that if you want to take me inside DSS custody, you will have to physically force me into doing this, because you had an agreement,” Mrs El-Rufai, the former governor’s first wife, said. “‘When Justice Abdulmalik said I should go to DSS in the first instance, we told her that there are subsisting orders. And she said, let DSS and ICPC go and decide who will keep him.” She said representatives of both agencies decided he should be taken to ICPC custody. “ What has changed?” she said.
Mrs El-Rufai also said the former governor had been in custody for 91 days and was being denied access to his personal doctors, despite a court order by Judge Aikawa of the Kaduna State High Court granting him access to lawyers and physicians.
She said the ICPC’s medical arrangements were also not followed.
“When you see a doctor and you run tests, you are expected to see the doctor back so that he explains what the problem is. He was denied access to the doctor because in their own explanation, they said Malam was not aware that the doctor was coming. I asked Malam. Malam said nobody told him,” she said.
Family’s demands, more allegations
When asked what the family wanted, she said, “El-Rufai’s immediate return to ICPC custody in line with the existing court orders, restoration of his access to personal physicians, and an end to what they described as psychological torment.”
In addition, Mr El-Rufai’s son and member of the House of Representatives, Bello El-Rufai, said the matter was politically motivated.
“Who keeps a person for 91 days? Why were the terms of the bail so stringent that it is practically impossible for anybody to meet? Why do you have to say that Kaduna State Council of Chiefs will have to give an attestation? Why are we saying that it has to be a government staff (member) of level 17, with a house in Asokoro or Maitama? Which civil servant has N100 million?” he asked.
He also accused the ICPC of issuing false statements and said he would petition his colleagues in the House of Representatives.
Similarly, Senator Lawal Adamu called for Mr El-Rufai’s immediate release on self-recognition bail.
He said El-Rufai flew in from Cairo to submit himself to the authorities and should not remain in custody.
The Director General of the El-Rufai Support Group Association, Uche Dialla, said the handling of the case amounted to psychological torture.
He said repeated transfers between agencies and court appearances violated international human rights standards.
ICPC responds
However, the ICPC Deputy Director and Head of Media and Public Communications, Okor Odey, denied claims that Mr El-Rufai was being held by the SSS.
Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES at about 7:40 p.m. on Monday, Mr Oddy said that as of that time, the former governor remained in ICPC custody.
“What I know is that as of about 30 minutes ago when I left the office, he is in ICPC custody,” he said.
Mr Odey also said Mr El-Rufai had repeatedly expressed preference to remain in ICPC custody.
He, however, said he was unaware of claims that the former governor was temporarily taken to the SSS facility during the court break.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that during proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, Judge Joyce AbdulMalik granted El-Rufai bail in the sum of N100 million.
The judge also granted an application seeking protection of prosecution witnesses from public disclosure for security reasons.
Following the ruling, the matter was stood down until 1 p.m. to allow arrangements for shielding the first prosecution witness before proceedings resumed.
ICPC clarifies access protocol, denies claims over El-Rufai’s treatment
Meanwhile, amid growing controversy over the detention of Mr El-Rufai, the ICPC on Monday defended its access control procedures and denied allegations that the former governor was denied food, medical care, or family access.
The commission said the clarification followed the circulation of a viral video since 10 p.m. on Friday. According to ICPC, In the video, one of El-Rufai’s wives alleged in Hausa that she was denied entry into the commission’s headquarters while attempting to deliver food to her husband.
At a media briefing in Abuja on Monday, Mr Odey described the allegations as “misleading” and maintained that the former governor had continued to enjoy medical access and family visits in line with court directives.
“The ICPC wishes to state categorically that these claims are false and misleading,” he said.
Mr Odey said the commission’s visitor access policy permits entry between 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and applies to all persons in custody.
According to him, the protocol existed long before the current leadership of the commission and families of suspects had always been aware of the arrangement.
He said one of MR El-Rufai’s wives and a housemaid visited the former governor at least three times on the day in question between 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
“This is documented in the visitor register, which records the names of family members and the purpose of each visit,” he said.
Mr Odey said authorised visitors, including lawyers and medical personnel, were allowed access to detainees, but not outside the approved visiting hours.
He said the woman involved in the viral video admitted she arrived at about 7 p.m., which was beyond the official access period.
“Furthermore, the woman herself admitted in the same video that she had delivered both breakfast and lunch to her husband earlier that day,” he added.
The ICPC spokesperson also rejected claims that medical personnel were denied access to El-Rufai.
According to him, the commission only requested proper identification and confirmation from the former governor before allowing supervised access.
“It bears mentioning that in the week preceding this incident, Malam el-Rufai had requested, and was granted, permission to visit both his dentist and eye doctor on two separate occasions,” he said.
Mr Odey added that the former governor also had access to the commission’s in-house medical personnel and facilities upon request.
He said Mr El-Rufai’s profile as a former minister, ex-governor, and politically exposed person required heightened security measures.
“Given his profile, the ICPC is obligated to maintain elevated security measures for his protection, as well as that of all other persons in its custody,” he said.
The spokesperson also accused some persons of attempting to create “dramatised narratives” around the detention matter.
“The ICPC remains focused on its mandate and will not compromise its security protocols under any circumstances,” he said.
He added that the commission’s procedures were designed to protect “the rights, safety, and dignity” of persons in custody.
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El-Rufai faces series of charges
Mr El-Rufai was arrested by ICPC operatives in February as he was leaving the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.
The following day, ICPC operatives raided the former governor’s house in Abuja in connection with corruption investigations.
Mr El-Rufai is facing a series of corruption cases in Kaduna, which stemmed from his activities as governor.
One of the judges overseeing his trial in Kaduna denied him bail last month and ordered him to remain in the custody of the prosecution agency, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC). The ruling, until reversed by the judge or set aside by a higher court, would effectively keep Mr El-Rufai in detention even if he is granted bail by other judges in the other ongoing proceedings.
Besides the corruption cases, Mr El-Rufai is also facing trial on charges of tapping the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu’s phone call.
Mr El-Rufai is an ally turned critic of President Bola Tinubu. He backed Mr Tinubu, then the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to win the 2023 presidential election. At some point during the presidential campaign, Mr Tinubu publicly persuaded Mr El-Rufai, then outgoing governor of Kaduna State, to forgo his plan to retire into private life and take up roles in his government if he won the presidential poll.
The former allies parted ways after a botched attempt by President Tinubu to appoint Mr El-Rufai minister, with the Senate refusing to clear him citing security reasons.