Hadiza el-Rufai, former first lady of Kaduna State and wife of Nasir el-Rufai, has mocked claims by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) that wiretapping equipment was recovered from their Abuja residence.
She responded to media reports that quoted the ICPC as suggesting that electronic gadgets that could record conversations were found during a search of their property in a post on X on Tuesday.
“You forgot to mention that you also took away my bank tokens.
“I swear to God, they are not wiretapping equipment,” she wrote.
Mrs. El-Rufai’s tweet cited a statement made on Monday by her son, Mohammed El-Rufai, the Kaduna North Federal Constituency representative.
He insisted that no “sophisticated tapping equipment” was found during the search, describing the allegations as untrue and politically motivated.
Chronicle NG reports that the ICPC, in court filings before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, listed documents and electronic devices it said were recovered from the former governor’s Abuja home while urging the court to dismiss his N1 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit.
The ICPC maintained that its operatives acted lawfully under a search warrant issued on February 18 and executed on February 19 between 1:37 pm and 3:56 pm at 12 Mambilla Street, Asokoro, Abuja. Police personnel accompanied the ICPC officials, and the search was witnessed by Hadiza El-Rufai and the couple’s son, Mohammed El-Rufai.
Items retrieved included investor account statements, asset declaration forms, certificates of registration for business entities, corporate compliance records, client Know-Your-Customer files, documents linked to the African Democratic Congress welfare secretary, records of domestic and foreign loans approved by the Kaduna State House of Assembly from 2015 to 2023, and interim investigation reports involving El-Rufai and associates.
Other materials reportedly seized included Ecobank Nigeria Plc share certificates, land documents, student financial services papers, valuation reports, deeds of assignment, irrevocable Powers of Attorney for multiple properties, Afri-Venture Capital Company documents, payment mandates, and media/publicity materials from the Office of the ex-governor.
Electronic devices listed include nine flash drives, one memory card, seven hard drives, multiple laptops (including Apple MacBook Pro and Elumac Book Pro models), several mobile phones (Blackberry, Nokia N95, Toshiba, Samsung IDEOS), a tablet, and chargers.
However, the family described the allegation of wiretapping equipment as “falsehood.”
“We were present when these items were seized,” the family said in a statement on Monday.
“No equipment other than old, discarded personal mobile phones, some dating back as much as 20 years, and storage devices like flash drives and laptops, which are standard possessions of any 21st-century citizen, were removed from the property.”
The family also accused the ICPC of interpreting El-Rufai’s decision to keep silent during questioning as non-cooperation, stating that the 1999 Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to remain silent and that exercising that right should not be interpreted negatively.
Earlier in February, El-Rufai claimed that someone had tapped the phone of Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, allowing him to overhear a conversation in which the NSA purportedly ordered his imprisonment.
He recognized that such an action would be illegal but said that government organizations often engage in similar tactics without court orders.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")