Members of the family of former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, alongside his political allies and supporters, on Monday, staged a protest at the headquarters of the Department of State Services over what they described as his continued detention.
The development comes as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission dismissed claims that El-Rufai is in poor health or being denied medical care in custody.
The agency insisted that, contrary to the claims by the African Democratic Congress and a viral video, the former governor is in good condition and has access to medical services in line with approved procedures.
A woman identified as El-Rufai’s wife, in a Hausa-language video interview, had alleged that ICPC officials denied her entry into the premises at about 7pm on Friday to deliver food to El-Rufai.
She also accused the commission of violating a court order granting family members access to the former governor and alleged that he was being denied food.
El-Rufai, who has remained in the custody of the ICPC since February 18, 2026, after a brief period with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has been involved in ongoing legal efforts to secure his release.
On Monday, family members, the senator representing Kaduna Central, Lawal Usman, and other loyalists, accused security authorities of moving El-Rufai in violation of subsisting court directives that, according to them, placed him under the custody of the ICPC.
El-Rufai’s second wife, Aisa, who addressed journalists outside the DSS facility, said the family was living in fear and under constant pressure from security surveillance and threats.
She said, “We now live in constant fear. Every day we get a threat — DSS, ICPC and police are coming to raid your house. You are being followed. Our phones are tapped.”
She narrated that earlier in the day, El-Rufai had appeared before Justice Joyce AbdulMalik of the Federal High Court, who granted bail and stood the matter down until 1 p.m.
According to her, during the court break, the former governor was briefly moved to a DSS facility — a move she said he resisted, insisting that existing Kaduna court orders required that he be remanded under ICPC custody.
“I remember him saying, ‘I am not going to step down because there are two court orders that the Kaduna court gave that I should be remanded in ICPC. Why are you bringing me here?’ He said that he is not a piece of furniture to be moved,” she recounted.
She questioned why he was again taken to the DSS instead of being returned to ICPC after the matter was fixed for continuation the next day.
As of the time she spoke to journalists, she said El-Rufai had refused to exit the vehicle that brought him to the DSS facility.
According to her, medical arrangements made through the ICPC had broken down despite initial agreements.
“When a doctor runs tests, you are expected to go back so that he can explain what the problem is. He was denied access to the doctor because, in their explanation, they said Malam was not aware that the doctor was coming.
The family demanded El-Rufai’s immediate return to ICPC custody in line with existing court orders, restoration of access to his personal physicians, and an end to what they described as psychological harassment.
“We are calling for his immediate release. He deserves to be granted bail based on self-recognition. What is happening is psychological harassment because of politics,” Adamu said.
El-Rufai’s son, Bello, alleged that the bail conditions imposed were deliberately structured to be difficult to meet, describing the entire process as politically motivated.
“Who keeps a person for 91 days, and why were the terms of the bail so stringent that it is practically impossible for anybody to meet? Why do you have to say that Kaduna State Council of Chiefs will have to give an attestation and that it has to be a government staff of level 17, with a house in Asokoro or Maitama?
“Which civil servant has N100m? What are we trying to do — are we trying to make people come out so that they can be targeted too?” he quizzed.
Director General of the El-Rufai Support Group Association, Dr Uche Dialla, also weighed in, describing the situation as a case of psychological torture and citing international human rights standards.
He said, “Torture is not just physical torture. When you take a man psychologically, he is in the custody of ICPC, goes to court, and immediately moves to another environment — that is psychological torture.
“His bag and toothbrush are with ICPC. El-Rufai is not there by choice. He was confined there by the orders of a court. Anything other than taking him back there would be deliberately torturing him.”
Also on Monday, the ADC raised concerns over El-Rufai’s continued detention, alleging that his health condition has worsened in custody amid claims that he has been denied access to medical care and adequate welfare.
In a statement issued in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of using state institutions to target opposition figures, describing the ex-governor as a “political prisoner.”
The party said reports from El-Rufai’s family indicated that authorities had denied him access to his doctors and prevented his wife from delivering food to him while in detention, despite an alleged court order granting him access to medical care.
“The African Democratic Congress is deeply concerned about the continued detention of Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai and his deteriorating health condition, following reports from his family alleging denial of medical access, restriction of food delivery, and disregard for a court order granting him access to his doctors.
“These reports, if true, represent a dangerous assault on his dignity, health, and constitutional rights,” the statement read.
The ADC argued that the former governor’s ordeal had gone beyond legal prosecution and had become politically motivated.
“What is happening to Mallam El-Rufai confirms beyond all doubt that this detention is no longer about justice; it is about politics.
“It also confirms our fears that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is deploying the instruments of state power to keep one of the leading opposition figures out of circulation. This is political persecution dressed up as prosecution,” the party stated.
The opposition party compared El-Rufai’s situation with that of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, and former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, both of whom are facing corruption allegations but are not in detention.
“When placed beside other high-profile cases, the contrast becomes stark and shameful.
“Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi State, has been accused in an alleged N80.2bn money laundering case. Ifeanyi Okowa, former governor of Delta State, was arrested over the alleged diversion of N1.3tn in derivation funds.
“But today, they are walking around free, singing President Tinubu’s campaign song,” the ADC said.
The party noted that El-Rufai voluntarily submitted himself for investigation in February and was later arraigned after spending weeks in custody.
It added that although he was granted bail in April, authorities had allegedly continued to keep him behind bars.
“President Tinubu cannot continue to masquerade as a democrat while presiding over the weaponisation of security and anti-corruption agencies against political opponents.
“Nigeria is not under a dictatorship. Therefore, compliance with the rule of law cannot be subject to presidential discretion,” it added.
The party further warned that the President, the ICPC and the EFCC would be held responsible for any further deterioration in El-Rufai’s health.
Reacting, the ICPC denied allegations that El-Rufai’s detention and trial were politically motivated, insisting that the anti-graft agency was only carrying out its statutory mandate.
The ICPC also dismissed claims that El-Rufai was denied access to medical care or food while in custody, stating that the former governor had been allowed to see doctors of his choice and receive visits from family members within the agency’s approved access hours.
Speaking during a media briefing at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday, the ICPC Deputy Director and Head of Media and Public Communications, John Odey, said El-Rufai remained in custody because he had yet to fulfil his court-approved bail conditions.
“The court granted him bail, and he is yet to meet his bail conditions. If he meets his bail conditions today, I can assure you that the ICPC will let him go. So we are not keeping him,” Odey said.
He added that the corruption charges against the former governor were already before the court and should not be interpreted through a political lens.
“The ICPC does not play politics. The law setting up the ICPC is very clear. The reason we have El-Rufai with us is that there were allegations made against him, charges referred against him.
“He has been arraigned in court. He is undergoing trial, so he is a defendant in those matters. It is strictly a judicial matter. It has nothing to do with politics,” he said.
Speaking on his health status, he said, “El-Rufai is in the custody of the ICPC, and he is in good health.”
Speaking on a viral video by El-Rufai’s wife, the ICPC described the allegations as “false and misleading,” explaining that its long-standing access control protocol permits visits only between 9am and 6:30pm.
According to the commission, the former governor’s family had previously complied with the access rules and had delivered food to him multiple times on the same day the allegations were made.
“The woman herself admitted in the same video that she had delivered both breakfast and lunch to her husband earlier that day, thereby contradicting the allegation that the ICPC denied him access to food,” Odey stated.
The commission said visitor records showed that one of El-Rufai’s wives and a housemaid visited him no fewer than three times between 10:30am and 5:30pm on the day in question.
On the allegation that medical personnel were denied access to the former governor, the ICPC said it only requested proper identification and confirmation from El-Rufai before granting supervised access, describing the measure as a standard security procedure.
The commission further disclosed that El-Rufai had, in the preceding week, been taken by ICPC officials to visit both his dentist and eye doctor on separate occasions.
“He has been allowed to go see the doctors of his choice. Before this incident, he went twice last week, and the ICPC took him there. He went and came back twice, and he has access to our in-house medical facility,” Odey said.
The anti-graft agency also stressed that El-Rufai’s status as a high-profile politically exposed person necessitated heightened security measures for his safety and that of other detainees.
It accused some persons of attempting to “dramatise” the situation to pressure the commission into disregarding its institutional procedures.
“The ICPC remains focused on its mandate and will not compromise its security protocols under any circumstances,” the commission added.
Court grants N100m bail
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday granted El-Rufai bail in the sum of N100m with stringent conditions in an alleged national security-related case.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, while ruling on the bail application, imposed stringent conditions for the former governor’s release.
The court held that the surety must reside in either Maitama or Asokoro districts of Abuja and must deposit the original Certificate of Occupancy of a landed property with the court registry.
The judge further ruled that the surety must be a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 17 and must provide evidence of salary payments for at least three months, authenticated by a bank manager within the court’s jurisdiction.
Justice Abdulmalik also directed the surety to depose an affidavit of means, enter into a bail bond and submit a recent passport photograph to the court registry.
As part of the conditions, El-Rufai was ordered to deposit all valid international passports with the court.
The court also directed the submission of a verification letter from the surety’s department alongside a tax clearance certificate covering the last six months.
In addition, the judge ordered the former governor to report to the headquarters of the Department of State Services every last Friday of the month by 10 am to sign an attendance register pending the determination of the case.
The court warned that any breach of the conditions would lead to an automatic revocation of the bail.
Justice Abdulmalik further ordered El-Rufai to submit a letter of attestation from the Chairman of the Kaduna Traditional Council.
The bail ruling followed the arraignment of the former governor by the Department of State Services on an amended five-count charge bordering on alleged breach of national security.
The DSS had, on April 23, arraigned El-Rufai before the same court, where he pleaded not guilty to all counts.
At the proceedings, counsel for the DSS, Oluwole Aladedoye (SAN), informed the court that the prosecution had filed a further amended five-count charge on April 13 and sought to substitute the earlier three-count charge.
Count four of the amended charges marked marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, reads “That you, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, adult, male, intentionally and without authorisation, intercepted the communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, as admitted by you on 13” February, 2026, while appearing as a guest on Arise TV Station’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.”
Counsel for the defendant, Oluwole Iyamu (SAN), confirmed receipt of the amended charge and did not oppose the application.
The court subsequently struck out the earlier three-count charge and read the amended counts to El-Rufai, who again pleaded not guilty.
The defence had drawn the court’s attention to a pending bail application filed on February 17, noting that a further affidavit initially missing from the court file was later located during proceedings.
The DSS, however, told the court that it was not opposing the bail request.
The defence also filed an application seeking to quash the amended charge, which the prosecution urged the court to dismiss for lacking merit.
After hearing arguments from both parties, Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the matter for hearing before delivering the bail ruling on Monday.
Timi Frank warns
In another development, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Timi Frank, has called on security agencies and relevant authorities to ensure the safety of El-Rufai.
In a statement issued on Monday, Frank urged authorities to strictly adhere to the rule of law and due process in all matters relating to the former governor.
“Nothing must happen to El-Rufai. Authorities must ensure that every legal process involving him is handled transparently and in line with the rule of law,” Frank said.
He warned against actions capable of escalating political tension or undermining public confidence in democratic institutions.
“The President, security agencies, and all relevant stakeholders must remember that power is transient and that justice and fairness remain the foundation of democracy,” he stated.
Frank also appealed to the Federal Government, security agencies, and political leaders to ensure that all legal processes involving El-Rufai were conducted peacefully and in accordance with existing court directives.
The political activist expressed concern over what he described as increasing political and legal pressure on the former governor, cautioning against actions that could be interpreted as politically motivated.
“I support the fight against corruption, but such a fight must be fair, just, balanced, and devoid of political persecution,” he added.
Frank further called on civil society organisations, religious leaders, northern stakeholders, and the international community to closely monitor developments surrounding the matter and continue advocating for justice, fairness, and democratic principles.