- ICPC Clears Air On Alleged Rights Violation Of Nasir El-Rufai
- Commission says visitation rules were followed with strict protocols
- Officials insist family and doctors were granted supervised access
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has dismissed allegations that former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, was denied access to food, family visits and medical care while in its custody.
ICPC spokesperson, Okor Odey, made the clarification during a press briefing on Monday, describing the claims as “false and misleading.”EDITOR’S PICKS
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Odey explained that the commission operates a clearly defined visitation policy, which allows access to detainees between 9:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., stressing that all procedures are guided by established security protocols.
He said el-Rufai’s wife visited the facility on the day in question but arrived outside the approved visiting window.
“On the Friday in question, one of the defendant’s wives and a housemaid were permitted to bring food to the defendant on no fewer than three occasions between 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.,” he said.
Odey further stated that family members, legal representatives and medical personnel are allowed to see detainees under supervision, adding that no request for access was arbitrarily denied.
According to him, claims that el-Rufai’s doctors were blocked from seeing him were also inaccurate, noting that officials only required proper identification before granting supervised access.
“It is a standard security procedure. It bears mentioning that in the week preceding this incident, Malam el-Rufai had requested, and was granted permission to visit both his dentist and eye doctor on two separate occasions,” he said.
He added that ICPC officials accompanied him during both medical visits to ensure compliance with procedural safeguards.
The commission stressed that it would not be drawn into what it described as “dramatised narratives designed to circumvent lawful institutional procedures.”
El-Rufai has been in ICPC custody since February 19 over allegations of financial impropriety during his tenure as governor of Kaduna State.
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