The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) of violating the rights of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, following the arrest of his personal physician and an alleged assault on his wife during a hospital visit in Abuja.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC condemned the anti-graft agency’s handling of El-Rufai’s medical visit, alleging that officials ignored medical advice recommending his admission at the National Hospital, Abuja, and instead insisted on returning him to custody.
According to the opposition party, the incident escalated after El-Rufai’s wife and his personal physician objected to the decision.
“Information reaching us is that El-Rufai was billed for treatment at the National Hospital in Abuja today. But against the hospital’s advice that he would require hospitalisation in view of his failing health, officials of the ICPC insisted on returning him into custody. Protests by his personal physician and his wife led to scuffles during which his wife was assaulted and the doctor subsequently arrested,” the statement said.
The ADC argued that the events surrounding the hospital visit reflected a pattern of political persecution rather than legitimate law enforcement, alleging that the former governor was being treated as a political detainee.
“The world should know today that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is holding a political prisoner in Nigeria by the name of Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai.
“No democratic government that claims to respect the rule of law should deny a detainee access to medical care or prevent close family members from seeing him in flagrant disobedience of the courts, which granted him unfettered access to his lawyers, physician and family members.
“Such conduct belongs to authoritarian regimes that use state institutions to break political opponents rather than to uphold justice,” the party stated.
The party maintained that the controversy had grown beyond the circumstances of El-Rufai’s detention, describing it as a broader issue concerning constitutional democracy, civil liberties and respect for the rule of law.
It also challenged the ICPC to publicly clarify the circumstances surrounding the alleged restriction of access to the former governor’s family and physician, as well as the reported confrontation at the hospital.
“The ICPC owes Nigerians immediate explanations. On whose authority was access to his family denied? Why has access to his doctor been refused despite concerns about his health? What legal basis exists for these actions? Why were El-Rufai’s wife and doctor assaulted by the ICPC operatives?” the ADC queried.
The opposition party further alleged that anti-corruption agencies were being deployed to intimidate political opponents, insisting that ultimate responsibility rested with President Bola Tinubu. It called for unrestricted access for El-Rufai to his family, lawyers and personal physicians, a review of his bail conditions, improved detention conditions, strict adherence to constitutional safeguards and greater transparency from the ICPC.
The ADC’s statement came less than an hour after the ICPC announced the arrest of El-Rufai’s personal physician, Prof. Bello Abubakar, accusing him of making false statements. The commission also alleged that El-Rufai breached the terms of a court-approved medical visit by meeting with political associates instead of undergoing medical consultation.
The anti-graft agency said it would report the alleged violation of the court order to the court for appropriate action.
(Ripples)
