By Bashir El-Rufai, son of embattled former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has deleted a tweet in which he announced that his father had been released from what he described as “unlawful and illegal detention” in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).
On Friday, Bashir El-Rufai took to his X (formerly Twitter) page to announce that his father had been released from ICPC detention.
Bashir wrote, “My beloved great legend of a father (@elrufai) is being released from his unlawful and illegal detention at the hands of one of the most corrupt agencies in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that is a lame excuse of a pathetic institution.
“Thank you all for all the support. Our family shall never forget these times. We have overcome, as the El-Rufais.”
This revelation followed an earlier announcement of the demise of the former governor’s mother, Hajiya Umma El-Rufai, in Egypt.
However, further investigation by AfrikTimes on Saturday, March 28, shows that the post has since been deleted from Bashir’s X page. As of press time, neither the ICPC nor the Federal Government of Nigeria has released any official statement confirming the development.
The former Kaduna State governor has been in the custody of the ICPC since February 19, after returning to Nigeria from Egypt on February 12.
Since his arrival, he has been facing multiple charges from the ICPC and the Department of State Services (DSS), bordering on fraud, money laundering, abuse of office, and the alleged unlawful interception of phone communications belonging to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
On Tuesday, March 24, the ICPC arraigned former Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai alongside one Joel Adoga before a Kaduna court on a 10-count charge bordering on abuse of office, money laundering, and fraud allegedly involving over ₦579.6 million and $1.1 million.
Interestingly, El-Rufai is yet to be granted official bail. On the same day, during the arraignment, the Federal High Court in Kaduna adjourned his bail application to March 31.
The reported release has since sparked public outrage, with many alleging that the development is undemocratic and reflects a troubling display of authoritarianism by the Federal Government.
