ICPC operatives assault El-Rufai’s wife, arrest doctor at National hospital— ADC allege
By Precious Mark
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised a major alarm over the worsening detention conditions of Malam Nasir El-Rufai, alleging that operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) forcefully denied the embattled former governor access to medical care, physically assaulted his wife, and arrested his personal physician.
The opposition party made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday, describing the development as a dangerous descent into authoritarianism and structural political persecution under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
According to the party, the incident occurred at the National Hospital in Abuja, where El-Rufai was scheduled for medical treatment due to his rapidly failing health.
“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,” the ADC stated.
The party explained that immediate protests by the former governor’s wife and his personal physician over his forced return to detention led to a violent scuffle, during which ICPC operatives physically assaulted El-Rufai’s wife and subsequently took the medical doctor into custody.
The ADC asserted that the actions of the anti-graft agency have long crossed the boundaries of lawful law enforcement, morphing into a direct assault on human dignity and the constitutional rights of Nigerian citizens.
“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,” the statement added.
“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.”
The party further demanded an immediate explanation from the leadership of the ICPC regarding the legal authority used to deny family access, refuse medical care, and assault civilians.
The ADC maintained that President Tinubu cannot continue to hide behind the supposed independence of anti-corruption agencies, stating that under the Nigerian Constitution, the buck stops at the president’s desk. It cautioned that using state institutions to criminalize political opposition distracts from the pressing national crises of inflation, insecurity, and mass unemployment.
Consequently, the opposition party demanded an immediate end to the harsh, degrading, and restrictive conditions under which the former Kaduna State governor is being held, alongside an urgent review of his punitive bail conditions.
“This is no longer about Mallam El-Rufai alone. It is about whether Nigeria remains a constitutional democracy or has descended into a republic where law enforcement agencies have become instruments of political persecution,” the party concluded.