Press Statement: The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is deeply alarmed by reports that today, officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) forcefully denied Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai access to medical care, arrested his personal physician and physically assaulted his wife.
Information reaching us is that El-Rufai was billed for treatment at the National Hospital in Abuja today. But against the hospital's advice that he would require hospitalisation in view of his failing health, officials of the ICPC insisted on returning him into custody. Protests by his personal physician and his wife led to scuffles during which his wife was assaulted and the doctor subsequently arrested.
The actions of the ICPC and the Tinubu government have for months now gone beyond the realm of law enforcement.
Their actions have become an assault on the Constitution of 200 million Nigerians, on human dignity, and on the most basic principles of justice and human rights.
The world should know today that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is holding a political prisoner in Nigeria by the name of Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai.
No democratic government that claims to respect the rule of law should deny a detainee access to medical care or prevent close family members from seeing him in flagrant disobedience of the courts, which granted him unfettered access to his lawyers, physician and family members.
Such conduct belongs to authoritarian regimes that use state institutions to break political opponents rather than to uphold justice.
This is no longer about Mallam El-Rufai alone. It is about whether Nigeria remains a constitutional democracy or has descended into a republic where law enforcement agencies have become instruments of political persecution.
As we have said since this treatment of Mallam El-Rufai began: “Today it is El-Rufai. Tomorrow it could be any Nigerian whose only offence is to disagree with those who wield power.”
The ICPC owes Nigerians immediate explanations. On whose authority was access to his family denied? Why has access to his doctor been refused despite concerns about his health? What legal basis exists for these actions? Why were El-Rufai’s wife and doctor assaulted by the ICPC operatives?
President Tinubu cannot continue to hide behind anti-corruption agencies while pretending that these actions are independent of his administration.
Under our Constitution, the buck stops with the President. Every day that Mallam El-Rufai remains in custody under these circumstances is another day that Bola Tinubu keeps criminalising political opposition instead of confronting the grave crises of insecurity, unemployment, inflation, and hunger confronting millions of Nigerians.
The ADC therefore demands the following:
1. Immediate and unrestricted access for Mallam El-Rufai to his wife, children, legal team, and personal medical practitioners.
2. An urgent review of the punitive and disproportionate bail conditions imposed on Mallam El-Rufai, with a view to ensuring that they conform with the Constitution and the fundamental principle that bail is intended to secure attendance at trial, not to inflict punishment before conviction.
3. An immediate end to the harsh, degrading and unnecessarily restrictive conditions under which he is being held and supervised, and his release from what has become a regime of political persecution masquerading as lawful process.
4. Full compliance with all constitutional guarantees and internationally recognised standards governing the treatment of persons in custody.
5. Complete transparency from the ICPC regarding the legal and factual basis for every restriction imposed on him.
6. An immediate end to the use of state institutions as instruments of political intimidation, vendetta and selective justice.
Signed:
Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, @BolajiADC National Publicity Secretary African Democratic Congress (ADC)
U.S. State Department (@StateDept) reporting, including the 2023 and 2024 Human Rights Reports on #Nigeria, makes clear that while judicial independence exists on paper in Nigeria, it is routinely undermined in practice by corruption and political influence.
Tomorrow, April 22, 2026, Nigeria’s Supreme Court will rule in what is widely viewed as a politically motivated case aimed at dismantling the opposition and destabilizing the African Democratic Congress party (@ADCNig).
There is growing concern that certain Justices may elevate procedural technicalities over the rule of law, effectively aiding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (@OfficialABAT) in consolidating power and pushing Nigeria toward a one party state.
The U.S. State Department is legally required by Congress to monitor and report on the status of judiciaries and human rights in foreign countries pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices requirement. As mandated by law, we are actively monitoring this case and briefing the Department of State on our assessment of the validity of the forthcoming ruling. Any ruling influenced by pressure from the current Nigerian government will be evident to all.
@realDonaldTrump@WhiteHouse@HouseForeignGOP@HouseForeign@SFRCdems@SecRubio@StateDept@AsstSecStateAF@SenateForeign@atiku@NGRPresident@HouseNGR@NGRSenate@CNNAfrica@BBCAfrica@Reuters @njcnigeria @AFP@ForeignPolicy@inecnigeria@SupremeCourtNg@fmojustice
Dear @Kyusufabba
Your Excellency,
As a proud indigene of Kano State currently residing in London, I am thrilled to present a transformative project that could elevate our beloved state. We, HAUG Maintenance Limited, are set to build West Africa’s largest aircraft hangar in Kano, a game-changer for the region’s aviation sector. Located near Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, this state-of-the-art facility will offer premium maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, secure storage, and top-tier amenities for private jets and commercial airlines. With Kano’s strategic position in northern Nigeria, this hangar will address a critical gap in West Africa’s aviation infrastructure while boosting our local economy. It will also present a High-Impact investment opportunity and robust profitability with an attractive return on investment within 4-5 years.
We've already secured a 10,000m² site for the project at Makia Tarmac via FAAN.
This initiative will create jobs, enhance skills, and drive economic growth—values I know you champion as Governor. It’s a chance to position Kano as a leader in aviation.
Your Excellency, we seek a meeting with you in order to make this happen.
I am ready to fly from London to Kano to discuss this opportunity with you in person. As a bonafide Kano indigene, I am deeply committed to seeing our state thrive. If you can spare a moment from your busy schedule, the team and I would be honoured to meet and explore how we can turn this vision into reality together.
Respectfully submitted.
#KanoAviation #Investment #HAUGMAINTENANCE
No matter how hard you guys try to mask your inner thoughts, that anti-North bigotry always shows. Someone who had the skills to detect flaws in JAMB’s sophisticated software suddenly loses the ability to verify an obviously false claim. There is no university in the North that admits students with a UTME score of 160 to study Medicine and Surgery.
The issue of selective justice is undermining public trust in Nigeria's anti-corruption campaign. How can citizens have faith in a system that seems to favor certain individuals over others? #IsGandujeabovethelaw
The perception that some officials are above the law while others are pursued with fervor creates a culture of impunity. This trend must be addressed to restore faith in the justice system. #IsGandujeabovethelaw
Justice should be blind, not biased. It is high time the Nigerian government stop shielding some corrupt officials while pursuing others not belonging to the government cohort.
#IsGandujeabovethelaw