Leaders of the African Democratic Congress [ADC] were denied access to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai on Friday while he was in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission [ICPC].
Those turned away at the ICPC office included ADC National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, and Salihu Lukman, Secretary of the party’s Manifesto and Policy Committee. Abdullahi disclosed the development in a post on X.
On Monday, the ADC accused President Bola Tinubu of using state institutions to silence opposition voices and described el-Rufai as a “political prisoner.” In a statement, the party condemned his continued detention, saying authorities had denied him access to doctors and prevented his wife from delivering food.
The party argued that despite voluntarily submitting himself, el-Rufai has faced prolonged detention and repeated court appearances, unlike other high-profile corruption suspects. It warned that Tinubu would be held responsible for any deterioration in his condition and said it was pursuing his release through lawful means locally and internationally.
On Monday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja granted el-Rufai bail of ₦100 million with one surety. Conditions include that the surety must reside in Maitama or Asokoro, deposit a Certificate of Occupancy, be a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 17, and provide proof of salary and tax clearance. El-Rufai must also surrender his international passports and report to the DSS headquarters on the last Friday of every month at 10 a.m.
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The judge warned that failure to meet the conditions would lead to automatic revocation of bail and ordered submission of a letter of attestation from the Chairman of the Kaduna Traditional Council.
