By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has dismissed as “not true” a claim by a media aide to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai that the ex-governor suffered a nosebleed while in its detention.
Mr. El-Rufai has been in ICPC custody since Tuesday, February 18, following his release by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), where he had spent two nights.
The denial comes after Muyiwa Adekeye, a spokesperson for the former governor, raised concerns about his client’s detention and health in a statement on Tuesday. Mr. Adekeye stated that the legal team had not been shown a valid remand order to justify holding Mr. El-Rufai beyond the constitutionally prescribed 48 hours without charge.
Mr. Adekeye also alleged that the family was being denied access, stating, “One of his wives was not allowed to deliver his meal directly to him on the evening of 17th February, but was asked to pass it to him through one of the commission’s personnel.” He further added that Mr. El-Rufai’s lawyers reported that he “suffered an overnight episode of bleeding from his nose.”
Reacting to the health claim on Tuesday, ICPC spokesperson Okor Odey told Peoples Gazette, “The allegation that he (El-Rufai) bled from his nose yesterday while in the custody of the ICPC is not true please.”
Both the ICPC and the EFCC are investigating Mr. El-Rufai over alleged financial impropriety during his two terms in office as governor of Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023. These investigations follow an indictment by the Kaduna State House of Assembly in 2024, which accused him of diverting N432 billion in public funds and money laundering, and subsequently recommended his prosecution.
In a separate but related matter, the Department of State Services (DSS) is expected to arraign the former governor this week. The planned arraignment stems from Mr. El-Rufai’s claim on national television that he had tapped the phone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and listened to his conversations.
Meanwhile, Mr. Adekeye confirmed that a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Mr. El-Rufai against the federal government, the ICPC, the EFCC, and the SSS is scheduled to be heard by the Federal Capital Territory High Court.
