Leaders of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, including the party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, were reportedly denied access to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, at the headquarters of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, in Abuja.
Other members of the delegation included ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, and Secretary of the ADC Manifesto and Policy Committee, Salihu Lukman.
The party leaders were said to have visited the anti-graft agency on Friday in an attempt to see El-Rufai, who is currently in the custody of the commission, but were allegedly denied access.
Details surrounding the development were still unclear as of the time of filing this report.
The incident comes amid growing controversy over the detention conditions of the former Kaduna governor, with his family alleging that he was denied access to his personal doctors despite a court order granting him unrestricted access to legal representatives and physicians.
The family also claimed that the ICPC’s in-house doctor had recommended further medical examination before access to his doctors was allegedly blocked.
However, the ICPC dismissed allegations that El-Rufai was being denied access to food, family members and medical care while in detention.
Speaking at a recent press briefing, ICPC spokesperson, Okor Odey, described the claims as “false and misleading.”
Odey insisted that “authorised visitors, including family members, lawyers and medical personnel, are allowed access under supervision within approved visiting hours.”
