From Edirin Robinson in Kaduna
The family of former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has accused the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) of fabricating allegations against him, describing the agency’s claims as a “litany of allegations, falsehoods, and theatrical posturing”.
In a statement signed by Hon. Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, a proud son of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and Chairman of the Committee on Banking Regulations, the family said the ICPC’s allegations were an attempt to prosecute a media war rather than adhere to the rule of law. The statement was made in response to ICPC’s claims that El-Rufai refused to cooperate with the agency’s investigation and that he was found in possession of sophisticated phone-tapping equipment.
The family emphasized that El-Rufai had exercised his constitutional right to silence, and that the ICPC’s interpretation of his silence as guilt was a “confession of their own inquisitorial mindset and their disregard for the very laws they are sworn to uphold”. They also disputed the ICPC’s list of seized items, describing it as “fiction” and stating that the equipment seized was old, discarded personal items, including mobile phones, storage devices, and laptops.
Furthermore, the family alleged that the search warrant used by the ICPC was forged, and that the agency had fraudulently procured it from a Magistrate purporting to sit in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory. They have instructed their legal team to challenge the warrant in court and to pursue all available legal remedies against the ICPC.
The statement concluded by expressing the family’s faith in the Nigerian judiciary to uphold their rights against the ICPC’s “executive overreach”. Hon. Mohammed Bello El-Rufai described the ICPC’s actions as an abuse of office and a “hallmark of an organization that has been completely captured and weaponized”.
The ICPC has yet to respond to the allegations made by the El-Rufai family.
