The African Democratic Congress, ADC, accused the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, of denying access to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The opposition party said the restrictions surrounding El-Rufai’s detention raised new concerns about political persecution, particularly after family members claimed he was denied access to doctors, food, and visitors despite voluntarily presenting himself to authorities.
The allegations were made in a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, following a visit to the ICPC headquarters by a delegation led by the ADC National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, as well as Abdullahi and the Secretary of the ADC Policy and Manifesto Committee, Salihu Lukman, who were allegedly denied access to the former governor, who is still in the agency’s custody.
ADC further claimed that tension escalated at the commission’s headquarters while its delegation awaited a response to its request and that three truckloads of armed police officers were dispatched to the site.
“It is deeply troubling that a simple request by senior party officials to visit a detained colleague was met, not with professionalism, but with a show of force more suited to the suppression of civil unrest,” the party added.
The party noted that members of its delegation remained peaceful throughout the visit and neither threatened disorder nor mobilized supporters to the facility.
ADC said, “At no point did members of our delegation threaten disorder, incite confrontation, or mobilize supporters to the premises. Yet the response of the state suggested panic, fear, and an attempt to intimidate not only our party leaders but also any Nigerian who may dare to question the treatment being meted out to opposition figures.
“What we are witnessing increasingly appears to be punishment by process, intimidation through isolation, and an attempt to break the spirit of a leading opposition figure.”
According to the statement, Aregbesola had already written formally to the Chairman of the ICPC, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, demanding visitation rights for El-Rufai due to mounting worries about his health.
According to the opposition party, relatives of the former governor’s family have also claimed that court-ordered medical access is being hampered by purported administrative interference and arbitrary regulations.
“Only days ago, Hajiya Asia El-Rufai publicly alleged that her husband was denied access to his doctor and that she was prevented from delivering food to him while in custody after arriving at the facility in the evening,” Abdullahi said.
While noting that the ICPC had dismissed the claims and insisted that due process was being followed, ADC stated that the reluctance to provide El-Rufai access was raising questions about the purpose of his imprisonment.
“Let it be clear: Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is not a fugitive. He voluntarily submitted himself to the authorities. Under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he is entitled to dignity, medical care, family access, and fair treatment under the law,” the party said.
The ADC demanded quick and unrestricted access to El-Rufai by his family, doctors, lawyers, and political friends, warning that anything less would further cement the public view that state institutions were being used against opposition voices.
“The ADC will not stand by and watch one of its leaders subjected to this pattern of harassment and calculated humiliation. Nigeria is watching. The international community is watching. The world is watching,” the party added.
