Operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have conducted a search of the Abuja residence of Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State.
Muyiwa Adekeye, the former governor’s media aide, confirmed in a statement that ICPC agents carried out the operation at el-Rufai’s Aso Drive residence on Thursday. He also revealed that the former governor’s legal counsel, Ubong Akpan, has condemned the search, describing it as unlawful and a gross violation of established legal procedures and fundamental rights.
Attempts to reach Okor Odey, the ICPC’s head of media and public communications, for a response were unsuccessful.
The search follows a turbulent week for the former governor. On Wednesday night, the ICPC announced it had taken el-Rufai into custody as part of ongoing investigations, shortly after he had spent time in the custody of both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Services (DSS).
El-Rufai’s troubles began on Monday when he honoured an EFCC invitation over alleged financial irregularities during his eight-year tenure as Kaduna governor between 2015 and 2023. The Kaduna State House of Assembly had previously indicted him in 2024 over allegations of diverting N423 billion in public funds, alongside money laundering charges, and called for his investigation by anti-corruption agencies.
The situation took a dramatic turn the previous Thursday when security operatives attempted to detain el-Rufai upon his return from Cairo, Egypt, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. The former governor later alleged that the ICPC, acting on the directive of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, ordered the DSS to arrest him on arrival. He went further during a Saturday television interview on Arise TV, claiming that someone had wiretapped Ribadu’s phone, enabling him to overhear the NSA issuing the arrest order to security operatives.
That claim has since drawn fresh legal consequences. On Monday, the DSS filed a three-count charge against el-Rufai for allegedly intercepting the NSA’s telephone conversation.
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