Mohammed Bello, son of Nasir el-Rufai, says operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) denied his father access to medical and family care at its detention facility on Friday.
El-Rufai has been in the custody of the ICPC since February 19 over alleged financial impropriety during his tenure as governor of Kaduna state between 2015 and 2023.
He was, however, granted temporary leave to attend his mother’s funeral.
In 2024, the Kaduna assembly indicted el-Rufai over the alleged diversion of N423 billion in public funds and money laundering and demanded that he be investigated by anti-graft agencies.
On April 13, 2026, the ICPC arraigned el-Rufai at the Kaduna high court on an amended nine-count charge bordering on alleged fraud and abuse of office.
In a statement on Saturday, Mohammed Bello accused the anti-graft agency of a “serious attack” on his father’s basic rights.
“Our father, Mallam Nasir @elrufai, is still being held by the ICPC. Today, 15 May 2026, we witnessed two distinct yet equally serious attacks on his basic rights,” the statement reads.
“First, his personal doctor visited the ICPC at about 3pm to discuss the results of medical tests recently conducted on our father.
Officials at the agency blocked the doctor from seeing him, claiming that written permission from the ICPC chairman was required.”
Mohammed Bello said the move by ICPC operatives “directly flouts a clear court order granting el-Rufai “unrestricted access to his doctors”.
He said his father was also prevented from seeing Aichatou, his second wife, who brought him his evening meal.
“ICPC personnel turned her away, saying they had orders not to permit food deliveries after 6:30pm,” he said.
“This arbitrary rule is no less offensive than blocking his right to medical care.”
El-Rufai’s son described the development as an outright assault on the rule of law and a clear violation of his father’s constitutional and human rights.
“No lawful detention justifies denying medical access or refusing basic family care based on an arbitrary curfew fixed by the ICPC. Shame on them as an institution,” he said.
He said the family demands that all el-Rufai’s constitutional rights be fully respected, adding that “we will no longer accept this pattern of intimidation dressed up as protocol”.
