Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has accused top officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) of attempting to compel him to withdraw from political activities ahead of 2027 as a condition for his release from detention.
This is part of the details contained in a 30-page private criminal complaint he filed before a Magistrate Court in Abuja and made available on his Facebook page yesterday.
According to the complaint against the ICPC chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu, DSS director-general, Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, alongside three other categories of officials, El-Rufai claimed that the accused persons told him he would regain his freedom only if he stopped participating in politics.
In a particularly weighty allegation contained in Paragraph 12 of the complaint, El-Rufai claimed that ICPC officials informed him that his release was conditional upon withdrawing from politics.
“During the period of his unlawful detention, the Complainant has been informed by officers of the ICPC… that his release is conditional upon him ceasing all political activities and refraining from participating in the political process,” the document reads.
The former governor argued that such a demand “constitutes an unlawful attempt to compel the Complainant to abandon his constitutional rights.”
The claim is also detailed in the affidavit in support, particularly in Paragraphs 22 to 24, where El-Rufai’s counsel stated that the former governor was repeatedly told that “continued political activity would prolong his detention and that only a commitment to withdraw from politics would secure his release.”
The complaint also alleged that he has been held incommunicado, with restricted access to family members and legal representatives, and denied access to his personal physicians despite pre-existing medical conditions.
Additionally, El-Rufai accused the ICPC chairman of authorising and supervising his continued detention “despite knowing that the Remand Order is void,” while the DSS Director-General was accused of playing a “central official role” in orchestrating his transfer from EFCC custody.
The suit listed wrongful confinement as the first count against the accused persons, citing Section 264 of the Penal Code, and wrongful restraint under Sections 265 and 266 as the second count.
The ex-Kaduna governor is asking the court to take cognisance of the alleged offences and issue necessary processes against the accused officials, arguing that the alleged actions constitute an abuse of office and an unlawful attempt to restrict his participation in the political process.
