Family protests as DSS picks up El-Rufai after court grants bail

The family of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday raised concerns after officials of the Department of State Services allegedly took him into custody following proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

According to the family, the move contradicted existing court orders directing that the former governor remain in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

Speaking with journalists outside the DSS facility, El-Rufai’s second wife, Hasiat, said the family had been living under constant fear, threats and surveillance.

“We now live in constant fear. Every day we get a threat — DSS is coming to raid your house, ICPC is coming to raid your house, police are coming to raid your house. You are being followed. Our phones are tapped,” she said.

She explained that El-Rufai had earlier appeared before Justice Joyce AbdulMalik of the Federal High Court, where he was granted bail before the matter was adjourned until 1pm.

According to her, during the break in proceedings, El-Rufai was briefly moved to the DSS facility, a move he resisted on the grounds that two subsisting court orders from a Kaduna court directed that he remain in ICPC custody.

“He said to them, I am not going to step down because there are two court orders that the Kaduna court gave that I should be remanded in ICPC. Why are you bringing me here? He said, I am not a furniture to be moved,” she recounted.

She added that although he was later returned to the ICPC, he was allegedly brought back to the DSS facility after the afternoon court session instead of being taken to the anti-graft agency.

Hasiat claimed that, as of the time she addressed journalists, El-Rufai had refused to leave the vehicle conveying him to the DSS facility.

“He told them that if you want to take me inside DSS custody, you will have to physically force me into doing this, because you had an agreement,” she said.

The former governor’s wife also alleged that El-Rufai had been denied access to his personal doctors despite an earlier court order granting him unrestricted access to his lawyers and medical team.

According to her, the ICPC’s in-house doctor had recommended medical tests, after which arrangements were made for his doctors to return and explain the results to him.

“That agreement was later disregarded,” she alleged.

“When you see a doctor and you run tests, you are expected to see the doctor back so that he explains what the problem is,” she said.

The family demanded El-Rufai’s immediate return to ICPC custody, restoration of access to his doctors and an end to what they described as psychological intimidation.

El-Rufai’s son and member of the House of Representatives, Bello El-Rufai, described the matter as politically motivated, criticising the bail conditions imposed by the court.

“Who keeps a person for 91 days? Why were the terms of the bail so stringent that it is practically impossible for anybody to meet?” he asked.

He also questioned conditions requiring a Grade Level 17 civil servant residing in Maitama or Asokoro to stand as surety with a property worth N100 million.

Director General of the El-Rufai Support Group Association, Dr Uche Dialla, also condemned the situation, describing the movement of the former governor between agencies as psychological torture.

“Torture is not just physical torture. When you take a man psychologically — he is in the custody of ICPC, and then he goes to court, and when there is a break you take him to another environment — that is psychological torture,” he said.

Also speaking, Senator Lawal Adamu called for El-Rufai’s immediate release, noting that the former governor voluntarily returned from Cairo after being invited by the ICPC.

“He was outside this country. He was invited by the ICPC, and he flew all the way from Cairo back to Nigeria to submit himself,” the senator stated.

However, security sources later confirmed that following discussions among lawyers involved in the matter, El-Rufai was eventually returned to ICPC custody as of 5pm on Monday.

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