The family of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has accused the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) of violating his constitutional rights while in detention.
In a statement issued on Thursday by Hon. Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, the family alleged that officials of the anti-graft agency prevented El-Rufai’s personal doctor from seeing him despite what they described as a standing court order granting unrestricted medical access.
According to the statement, the doctor arrived at the ICPC facility around 3pm to discuss the results of medical tests recently conducted on the former governor, but was denied access by officials who insisted that written approval from the ICPC Chairman was required.
The family described the action as a direct violation of a court order and an attack on El-Rufai’s basic rights.
The statement further alleged that El-Rufai’s wife, Aunty Aichatou, was also denied access when she attempted to deliver his evening meal at about 7pm.
ICPC officials reportedly told her that food deliveries were not allowed after 6:30pm, a restriction the family described as arbitrary and unjustifiable.
Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, who represents Kaduna North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, condemned the actions of the commission, saying no lawful detention should deny an individual access to medical care or family support.
The family accused the ICPC of engaging in intimidation under the guise of official protocol and demanded that all constitutional rights of the former governor be respected.
“We demand that all his constitutional rights be fully respected. We will no longer accept this pattern of intimidation dressed up as protocol. The ICPC must abide by the very laws it claims to enforce,” the statement read.
As of the time of filing this report, the ICPC had not issued an official response to the allegations.
