ICPC REPORTEDLY BLOCKS ADC LEADERS FROM SEEING EL-RUFAI IN CUSTODY

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By:Tajudeen Aminat

Leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) were reportedly prevented from meeting former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who remains in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

The ADC delegation comprised the party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, and Secretary of the ADC Manifesto and Policy Committee, Salihu Lukman.

The party officials were said to have visited the ICPC facility to see El-Rufai but were allegedly denied access. As of Friday afternoon, the exact circumstances surrounding the incident had not been clarified.

The development comes shortly after the ICPC rejected claims that El-Rufai was being denied food, medical attention, and access to family members while in detention.

Earlier, ICPC spokesperson Okor Odey described the allegations as “false and misleading” during a press briefing.

He explained that visiting hours at the commission’s detention facilities run from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., noting that El-Rufai’s wife reportedly arrived outside the approved period.

Odey added that approved visitors, including relatives, legal representatives, and medical personnel, were being granted supervised access.

However, the El-Rufai family alleged that the former governor had been denied access to his personal doctors despite a Kaduna High Court order permitting unrestricted access to his lawyers and physicians.

The family also claimed that the ICPC’s resident doctor had recommended further medical evaluation before access was allegedly restricted.

“When you see a doctor and you run tests, you are expected to return so the doctor can explain the outcome,” a family member said.

El-Rufai’s second wife, Hasiat, also alleged that he was denied access to the doctor.