ADC accuses ICPC of intimidation over denial of access to Nasir El-Rufai

Politics

ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) of intimidation and political harassment following the refusal to grant party leaders access to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who remains in the custody of the anti-graft agency.

In a statement issued on Friday, the opposition party said senior ADC leaders, including National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola and ADC Policy and Manifesto Committee Secretary, Salihu Lukman, visited the ICPC headquarters in Abuja to see El-Rufai but were denied access despite prior communication and formal requests.

The party claimed that while the delegation waited for a response, tension escalated after three truckloads of armed police officers reportedly arrived at the premises.

According to the ADC, the heavy security deployment was unnecessary given that the visiting party officials were unarmed and peaceful.

“It is deeply troubling that a simple request by senior party officials to visit a detained colleague was met, not with professionalism, but with a show of force more suited to the suppression of civil unrest,” the statement said.

The party further alleged that state institutions were increasingly being used as instruments of political pressure and intimidation against opposition voices.

The ADC noted that its National Secretary had earlier written officially to the ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu, requesting visitation rights for El-Rufai amid concerns over his wellbeing and alleged restrictions on access to family members and medical personnel.

The statement also referenced allegations made by El-Rufai’s wife, Hajiya Asia El-Rufai, who reportedly claimed that her husband had been denied access to his doctor and that she was prevented from delivering food to him while in custody.

According to the party, family members had also raised concerns that even court-approved medical access was allegedly being hindered through administrative protocols.

While the ICPC has denied the allegations and maintained that due procedures were followed, the ADC argued that the continued refusal to allow party leaders access to El-Rufai only deepened public suspicion over the circumstances surrounding his detention.

The party stressed that El-Rufai voluntarily submitted himself to authorities and was entitled under the Nigerian Constitution to dignity, medical care, family access, and fair treatment under the law.

“What we are witnessing increasingly appears to be punishment by process, intimidation through isolation, and an attempt to break the spirit of a leading opposition figure,” the statement added.

The ADC called on the ICPC to immediately grant unrestricted access to El-Rufai by his family, lawyers, doctors, and political associates, warning that failure to do so would reinforce perceptions that state institutions were being weaponised against opposition figures in Nigeria.