Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has denied allegations by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) that he violated a court order by allegedly abusing the privilege of a court approved medical visit, insisting that he merely exercised rights guaranteed under an existing court order.
In a statement issued yesterday by his Media Adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye, El-Rufai also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of his personal physician, Prof. Bello Abubakar, who was arrested by the anti-corruption agency for allegedly making false statements.
The rebuttal followed an ICPC statement issued on July 7 in which the commission accused the former governor and his physician of abusing the privilege of a medical visit and violating a court order.
But rejecting the allegations, El-Rufai described the ICPC’s account as inaccurate and misleading, maintaining that his absence from court on July 6 resulted from an unresolved medical condition rather than an attempt to evade trial.
According to the statement, Abubakar had visited the ICPC facility in the preceding week after coordinating with the commission’s attending doctor, but was allegedly kept waiting for more than two hours before being denied access to his patient.
It added that following the denial, El-Rufai’s family formally requested that he be taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, for a consultation with the physician on July 7, a request it said had already been communicated to the hospital before the family became aware of the July 6 court sitting in Kaduna.
“It was against this background, an unresolved medical need, a documented denial of access to his physician the week before, and Malam El-Rufai’s continuing ill health, that the scheduled trip to Kaduna on 6th July became untenable. He did receivenot travel that day for that reason,” the statement said.
The former governor’s lawyers further argued that the ICPC was already aware of the outstanding medical request and therefore erred in suggesting that El-Rufai had no immediate medical complaints or deliberately avoided appearing in court.
The statement also disputed the commission’s claim that El-Rufai breached a court order during his hospital visit, insisting that the only applicable order was that of April 1, 2026, issued by Justice R. M. Aikawa, which entitled him to medical care while in custody.
“The only order in existence on this subject is the order of Justice Aikawa of 1st April 2026. That order directs that Malam El-Rufai be afforded access to medical care in custody; it does not regulate, restrict, or impose conditions on who may see or be seen by him while that access is being exercised,” it stated.
According to the rebuttal, the ICPC merely complied with its legal obligation by facilitating the hospital visit and could not subsequently claim that the exercise amounted to a violation of the same order.
On the events at the National Hospital, El-Rufai’s camp alleged that while the family had requested a 5 p.m. appointment to minimise public attention, the ICPC unilaterally rescheduled the consultation to 10 a.m. without prior notice.
It said that after meeting privately with Professor Abubakar, El-Rufai waited in a public area of the hospital for about an hour while officials prepared a medical report required before his return to custody.
According to the statement, some individuals who became aware of his presence requested to greet him, while others approached him after recognising him at the hospital.
“The ICPC’s narrative that this visit was converted into a political meeting takes no account of its own conduct. It was the Commission that moved the appointment from a quiet 5:00pm slot to a high traffic 10:00am slot… A narrative of political theatre engineered by the defence is not supported,” the statement argued.
El-Rufai further maintained that access to medical care was not a discretionary privilege but a right recognised under the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, as well as the subsisting court order.
The former governor also questioned the basis for the arrest of Professor Abubakar, saying the ICPC had failed to disclose the allegedly false statement attributed to the physician.
“We call on the ICPC to state, with specificity: what statement is alleged to be false; whether it was made orally or in writing, and to whom,” the statement said.
It added: “We call for Professor Abubakar’s immediate and unconditional release pending the ICPC’s disclosure of the specific allegation against him.”
El-Rufai also dismissed the commission’s assertion that it would ask the court to sanction him for disobeying its orders, insisting that no court directive had been breached.
“We call on the ICPC to retract the statement insofar as it asserts a breach of a court order. Malam El-Rufai will continue to assert his right to a fair trial, his right to medical care of his choosing… and his right to be treated in accordance with the standards guaranteed by law,” the statement concluded.
