Emiola Osifeso
The family of former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has dismissed as fiction the alleged discovery of wiretapping equipment at his Abuja residence by the ICPC.
In a statement released on Monday, the family described the anti-graft agency’s recent allegations as a “circus of chicanery” and an orchestrated smear campaign designed to prosecute a media war rather than adhere to the rule of law.
The statement was signed by his son, Hon. Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, a member representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency and Chairman of the Committee on Banking Regulations.
The family’s reaction follows a report by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) claiming its operatives uncovered “wiretapping devices capable of intercepting conversations” during a search of the former governor’s home.
The ICPC had also alleged that an aide to El-Rufai had fled the country and raised fresh corruption questions regarding millions of euros and naira linked to Kaduna State accounts.
However, the El-Rufai family vehemently denied the claims, stating that the list of seized items presented by the ICPC was a “work of fiction.”
They asserted that they were present during the search and that no such sophisticated equipment was found. “No equipment other than old discarded personal mobile phones some dating back as much as 20 years, storage devices like flash drives and laptops, which are standard possessions of any 21st-century citizen, were seized from the property,” the statement read.
The family further challenged the foundation of the investigation, alleging that the search warrant used by the ICPC was a “forgery, fraudulently procured.”
They maintained that Mallam Nasir el-Rufai has consistently exercised his constitutional right to remain silent and has repeatedly challenged the commission to file charges in court if they have evidence against him, rather than trying him in the media.
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