Operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have reportedly conducted a search at the Abuja residence of Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna.
Muyiwa Adekeye, the media aide to el-Rufai, in a brief statement that agents of the anti-corruption commission carried out the search on Thursday.
“UPDATE: The Aso Drive residence of Malam Nasir @elrufai was today searched by the ICPC. Ubong Akpan, Malam El- Rufai’s lawyer, condemned the action “as unlawful, and a clear violation of legal procedures and fundamental rights”,” Adekeye wrote on X.
On Wednesday night, ICPC said it took the former governor into custody in connection with ongoing investigations.
Before his arrest by the ICPC, el-Rufai was reportedly in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) after spending two nights at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
On Monday, the former governor presented himself at the EFCC headquarters following an invitation regarding alleged financial improprieties during his tenure as governor of Kaduna state between 2015 and 2023.
In 2024, the Kaduna assembly indicted el-Rufai over the alleged diversion of N423 billion in public funds and money laundering and demanded that he be investigated by anti-graft agencies.
Last Thursday, security operatives attempted to arrest el-Rufai at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, when he touched down from Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
El-Rufai would later allege that the ICPC, at Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser’s instruction, asked the DSS to arrest him upon arrival.
On Saturday, during an interview on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme, el-Rufai said “someone wiretapped” Ribadu’s phone, allowing him to listen to the NSA directing security operatives to effect his arrest.
On Monday, the DSS filed a three-count charge against el-Rufai for allegedly intercepting the NSA’s telephone conversation.
