El-Rufai’s physician faces trial over medical report

The personal physician to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, Dr Bello Abubakar, is facing disciplinary proceedings by the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) over allegations that he procured a fake medical report for the former governor.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has also filed a four-count charge against Abubakar, a consultant radiation oncologist at the National Hospital, Abuja, over the alleged offence.

According to court documents, the ICPC accused Abubakar of issuing a false medical report to support El-Rufai’s bail application in a case before the Kaduna State High Court.

The anti-graft agency had earlier arrested the doctor after investigating a court-approved medical visit granted to El-Rufai. It alleged that the former governor violated the court order by receiving political associates instead of undergoing medical consultation.

According to Daily Trust, the ICPC verified the authenticity of the medical report submitted on El-Rufai’s behalf before taking action. The newspaper reported that three Nigerian doctors and one United States-based doctor allegedly confirmed the report was not genuine.

The report further stated that the commission referred Abubakar to MDCAN for disciplinary action before filing criminal charges.

According to the charge sheet, Abubakar authored a document titled “Medical Report and Expert Opinion for Urgent Medical Intervention” dated June 10, 2026, and allegedly presented it to a Commissioner for Oaths in Kaduna State, Aliyu Bala, despite knowing its contents were false.

The ICPC accused him of providing false information to mislead a public officer, abusing his office to confer an unfair advantage, conspiring to produce the report in support of El-Rufai’s bail application, and presenting the document as though it had the approval of the National Hospital.

Court filings also indicate that the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, Abuja, Prof. Raji Mahmud, is expected to testify that Abubakar issued the report without conducting the required medical examination and without the hospital’s authorisation.

Mahmud is also expected to tell the court that the report did not follow the hospital’s procedures and was later used to support an affidavit filed in El-Rufai’s bail application.

The National Hospital has confirmed that Abubakar remains attached to the institution as a Chief Consultant Radiation Oncologist on a contract appointment following his retirement from full-time service.

Neither El-Rufai nor Abubakar had publicly responded to the latest allegations as of the time of filing this report.