ICPC Tackles El-Rufai’s Wife Over Viral Access Denial Claim

JOEL OLADELE, Abuja

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Monday pushed back against allegations made in a viral video by the wife of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, insisting that she was not denied access to deliver food to her husband while in custody.

The anti-graft agency described the claims circulating online as false and misleading, maintaining that established access procedures at its Abuja headquarters were strictly followed.

The clarification was made during a media briefing addressed by the spokesperson of the commission, J. Okor Odey, at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja.

The briefing followed widespread reactions to a Hausa-language video that surfaced late Friday in which a woman identifying herself as El-Rufai’s wife alleged that she was prevented from entering the commission’s premises around 7 p.m. to deliver food to the former governor.

In the video, she also claimed that the ICPC violated a court order granting family access to El-Rufai and alleged that he was being denied food while in detention.

But the commission firmly rejected the allegations.

“The ICPC wishes to state categorically that these claims are false and misleading,” Odey said.

According to him, the commission operates a standing access control protocol that allows visitors into its premises between 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., noting that the policy predates the current leadership of the agency.

“The families of all defendants and suspects in ICPC custody, including the family in question, were duly informed of this protocol and have, until this incident, been in compliance,” he stated.

Odey disclosed that records available to the commission showed that one of El-Rufai’s wives and a housemaid were granted access to deliver food to him on at least three occasions between 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on the same Friday the allegations emerged.

He added that the visits were properly documented in the commission’s official visitors’ register.

The ICPC further revealed that El-Rufai received six separate visits from family members that day, with the entries captured in the register available for independent verification.

According to the spokesperson, the woman in the viral video admitted that she arrived at the premises around 7 p.m., which was thirty minutes after the close of the approved visiting period.

“The woman in the video herself acknowledged that she arrived at 7 p.m., thirty minutes after the close of the official access window,” Odey said.

He added that the same woman also admitted in the video that she had earlier delivered breakfast and lunch to her husband, contradicting claims that the former governor was denied food.

The commission also stated that the woman had previously exceeded her approved visiting duration on earlier occasions.

Addressing claims that medical personnel were denied access to El-Rufai, the ICPC explained that it merely requested proper identification and confirmation from the former governor before supervised access could be granted.

Odey described the procedure as a standard security measure applicable to all detainees regardless of status.

He further disclosed that El-Rufai had recently been granted permission to visit both his dentist and eye doctor under the supervision of the commission.

“This is in addition to the regular access he enjoys to the Commission’s in-house medical personnel and facilities upon request,” he added.

The ICPC also raised concerns over the circumstances surrounding the viral video, noting that the visit in question was conducted in the company of media personnel and outside the approved visiting period.

“The Commission wishes to state that it will not be drawn into dramatised narratives designed to circumvent lawful institutional procedures,” Odey said.

He maintained that the commission’s access control measures were designed to protect the rights, safety and dignity of all persons in custody.

The spokesperson added that the agency, under the leadership of its Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), remains committed to the rule of law and the equal application of regulations irrespective of political status or affiliation.