Those involved in the visit included the party’s National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, and Secretary of the ADC Manifesto and Policy Committee Salihu Lukman. They were said to have arrived at the detention facility seeking access to El-Rufai but were turned back. The reason for the denial was not immediately clarified.
The visit comes shortly after the ICPC responded to public claims regarding El-Rufai’s treatment in custody. The agency’s spokesperson Okor Odey said there was no restriction on lawful access to detainees and maintained that visits are only permitted within approved hours, between 9:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
According to the commission, family members are allowed to meet detainees under supervision, alongside lawyers and medical personnel. It also stated that El-Rufai’s wife arrived outside the permitted visiting window during a previous attempt to see him.
The commission’s position followed earlier claims from El-Rufai’s family alleging limited access to food, relatives, and healthcare while in detention. The family referenced a ruling from the Kaduna High Court, which they said granted unrestricted access to legal and medical representatives.
They further alleged that a medical follow-up recommended by an in-house doctor at the facility had been delayed or blocked. A family member said consultations with a doctor should normally be followed by feedback on test results, while El-Rufai’s wife, Hasiat, also claimed access to a doctor was denied.
As of the time of reporting, the ICPC had not issued additional clarification on the ADC delegation’s inability to meet the former governor.
