The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has denied allegations that the detention and trial of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, were politically motivated, insisting that the anti-graft agency was only carrying out its statutory responsibilities.

The Commission also rejected claims that El-Rufai was denied access to food and medical care while in custody, stating that he had been allowed to receive visits from family members and consult doctors of his choice within approved access hours.

Speaking during a media briefing at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday, the ICPC Deputy Director and Head of Media and Public Communications, John Odey, said the former governor remained in custody because he had yet to fulfil his court-approved bail conditions.

“The court granted him bail, and he is yet to meet his bail conditions. If he meets his bail conditions today, I can assure you that the ICPC will let him go. So we are not keeping him,” Odey said.

He maintained that the charges against El-Rufai were strictly judicial matters already before the court and should not be viewed from a political perspective.

“The ICPC does not play politics. The law setting up the ICPC is very clear. The reason we have El-Rufai with us is that there were allegations made against him, charges referred against him. He has been arraigned in court. He is undergoing trial, so he is a defendant in those matters. It is strictly a judicial matter. It has nothing to do with politics,” he stated.

Reacting to concerns over the former governor’s well-being, Odey added, “El-Rufai is in the custody of the ICPC, and he is in good health.”

The clarification followed the circulation of a Hausa-language video interview in which a woman identified as one of El-Rufai’s wives alleged that ICPC officials denied her entry into the premises around 7 pm on Friday while attempting to deliver food to her husband.

She also accused the Commission of violating a court order granting family members access to the former governor and claimed he was being denied food.

However, the ICPC described the allegations as false and misleading, explaining that its long-standing access control policy permits visits only between 9 am and 6:30 pm.

According to the Commission, the former governor’s family had complied with the access rules earlier in the day and had successfully delivered food to him several times before the alleged incident.

“The woman herself admitted in the same video that she had delivered both breakfast and lunch to her husband earlier that day, thereby contradicting the allegation that the ICPC denied him access to food,” Odey said.

The Commission disclosed that visitor records showed one of El-Rufai’s wives and a housemaid visited him at least three times between 10:30 am and 5:30 pm on the same day.

On allegations that medical personnel were denied access to the former governor, the anti-graft agency explained that it only requested proper identification and confirmation from El-Rufai before granting supervised access, describing the procedure as part of its standard security measures.

The ICPC further revealed that El-Rufai had been taken by its officials to visit both his dentist and eye doctor on separate occasions in the preceding week.
 

“He has been allowed to go see the doctors of his choice. Before this incident, he went twice last week, and the ICPC took him there. He went and came back twice, and he has access to our in-house medical facility,” Odey stated.

The Commission added that El-Rufai’s status as a high-profile politically exposed person required enhanced security protocols for his safety and that of other detainees.

It accused some individuals of attempting to dramatise the situation to pressure the agency into abandoning its institutional procedures.

“The ICPC remains focused on its mandate and will not compromise its security protocols under any circumstances,” the Commission added.