The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Federal Government and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) of denying former Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El-Rufai, access to medical treatment, alleging that his personal physician was arrested and his wife assaulted in an incident at the National Hospital, Abuja.
The opposition party, in a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, characterised the purported activities as an abuse of constitutional rights and warned that Nigeria was “sliding into tyranny” under President Bola Tinubu.
El-Rufai was sent to the National Hospital for medical attention where physicians were said to have advised that he be admitted owing to his failing health, the ADC said. But the party said the ICPC officers insisted on placing him back in detention against the medical advise.
The opposition further said that El-Rufai’s wife and personal doctor had protested which led in a fight where his wife was allegedly attacked and the doctor arrested.
The ADC argued that the acts of the ICPC and the Tinubu government have crossed the line of law enforcement, accusing the administration of using anti-corruption authorities as vehicles for political persecution.
The party said that the governor was being held as a “political prisoner” and that the denial of access to his medical care, family members and legal team was a violation of the provisions of the constitution and court rulings which gave him unlimited access to his lawyers, physician and relatives.
It warned that the development raises wider worries about the state of democracy and rule of law in Nigeria.
The ADC also sought clarification from the ICPC on the legal basis for the purported restrictions placed on El-Rufai, including denial of access to his family and doctor, and the circumstances surrounding the alleged assault on his wife and detention of his physician.
The party called on President Tinubu to accept responsibility for the conduct of federal government agencies, saying the President cannot separate himself from their conduct.
The ADC’s demands include immediate and unrestricted access to El-Rufai by his family, legal team and personal doctors; review of El-Rufai’s bail conditions, improved conditions of detention, full compliance with constitutional safeguards governing detainees, transparency from the ICPC and an end to the use of state institutions for political intimidation, it said.
As at the time of posting this story, no formal answers had been given by either the ICPC or the Presidency to the claims included in the ADC statement.
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