I missed court over health, not defiance — El-Rufai

Former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has denied allegations by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) that he disobeyed a court order, insisting the anti-graft agency distorted the circumstances surrounding his absence from court and subsequent medical visit.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by his media adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye, El-Rufai described the ICPC’s July 7 statement as inaccurate, maintaining that his failure to appear before a Kaduna court on July 6 was due to unresolved health issues that had already been brought to the commission’s attention.

According to the statement, El-Rufai’s personal physician, Professor Bello Abubakar, had earlier sought access to examine him in ICPC custody but was allegedly denied despite prior coordination with the commission’s medical personnel.

It said the family later submitted a formal request for El-Rufai to receive treatment at the National Hospital, Abuja, on July 7, adding that the request had been communicated to the hospital by the ICPC before the family became aware of the scheduled court sitting.

The former governor argued that the medical visit was conducted under an existing Federal High Court order issued on April 1, 2026, by Justice R.M. Aikawa, which guaranteed him access to medical care while in custody.

He rejected the ICPC’s claim that photographs taken during the hospital visit amounted to a violation of a court order, insisting that no such order restricted who could see him during treatment.

“The only order in existence entitles Malam El-Rufai to medical care in custody. It does not regulate or restrict who may see him while receiving treatment,” the statement said.

El-Rufai further accused the commission of omitting key facts, including the earlier denial of access to his physician and the sequence of events leading to his hospital visit.

The statement also claimed that when prosecutors sought to proceed with the trial in his absence, they relied on submissions from the Bar without calling witnesses or presenting sworn evidence to support their claims.

According to the statement, the defence objected to the application, arguing that the allegations required evidence under oath and cross-examination before the court could rely on them.

The case was subsequently adjourned until July 15 to hear El-Rufai’s application seeking the trial judge’s recusal and to await the outcome of a pending petition requesting the transfer of the case.

El-Rufai called on the ICPC to withdraw its allegation that he violated a court order, maintaining that he would continue to exercise his constitutional right to a fair trial and access to medical care while in custody.