El-Rufai suffering worsening eye condition, denied medical attention – Aide

Muyiwa Adekeye, media aide to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has alleged that his principal is suffering from a deteriorating eye condition while in detention of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC.

Adekeye lamented that despite El-Rufai’s worsening eye situation, the ICPC has denied him access to medical treatment.

In a statement he signed on Friday, Adekeye said the former governor complained of swollen, reddish and itchy eyes and demanded for urgent medical attention.

Adekeye said family members who visited the former governor in detention reported the situation to officials of the anti-graft agency while seeking urgent medical intervention.

“Two ICPC officials checked and saw the condition of his eyes. This was expected step to prompt either a hospital check or that a doctor would be summoned to attend to him.

“However, no medical attention was arranged. Rather one Henry, believed to have been seconded to the ICPC from another agency, falsely informed a family member that El-Rufai did not wish to see a doctor.

“The ICPC persists in treating him as if he is without rights and is undeserving of a duty of care while in their custody,” he said.

The former Kaduna State governor was arrested in Abuja by ICPC operatives earlier in the year.

He was initially detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Upon receiving administrative bail from the EFCC, he was immediately rearrested by ICPC agents on February 18, 2026 and has since remained in its custody.

He was arrested and detained over allegations of corruption, abuse of office, and money laundering while he was in office from 2015 to 2023.

Following multiple extensions of his remand order, the ICPC arraigned El-Rufai alongside one other individual in March 2026 before the Federal High Court in Kaduna on a 10-count charge.

The charges include receiving severance allowances in excess of legal entitlements, fraud, and money laundering.