Leaders of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, were allegedly denied access to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who is currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC.
The ADC delegation included 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 leaders reportedly visited the ICPC facility in an attempt to see El-Rufai but were denied access. Details surrounding the incident were still unclear as of Friday afternoon.
The development comes days after the ICPC dismissed allegations that El-Rufai was being denied access to food, family members and medical care while in detention.
Speaking at a press conference earlier, ICPC spokesperson, Okor Odey, described the allegations as “false and misleading.”
According to him, visitors are allowed into ICPC detention facilities between 9:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., adding that El-Rufai’s wife arrived outside the approved visiting hours.
Also Read: ICPC labels El-Rufai restriction claim false
Odey also maintained that authorized visitors, including family members, lawyers and medical personnel, were permitted access under supervision.
However, the El-Rufai family had alleged that the former governor was denied access to his personal doctors despite an earlier court order from the Kaduna High Court granting him unrestricted access to legal representatives and physicians.
The family further claimed that the ICPC’s in-house doctor had recommended additional medical examination before access was allegedly blocked.
“When you see a doctor and you run tests, you are expected to see the doctor back so that he explains what the problem is,” a family member said.
“He was denied access to the doctor,” El-Rufai’s second wife, Hasiat, alleged.
The ADC accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of using state institutions to silence opposition voices and described El-Rufai as a “political prisoner”.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, the party condemned the continued detention of Mallam El-Rufai, following reports that authorities denied him access to his doctors and prevented his wife from delivering food to him in custody.
The ADC argued that despite voluntarily submitting himself to authorities, El-Rufai has faced prolonged detention and repeated court appearances, unlike other high-profile corruption suspects such as Yahaya Bello and Ifeanyi Okowa.
The party warned that Tinubu should be held responsible for any deterioration in his condition.
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