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By John Ogunsemore
The family of former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has described as “work of fiction” the claim by the ICPC that it seized phone tapping equipment from the Abuja home of the ex-governor.
El-Rufai’s son and Member for Kaduna North Federal Constituency, Hon. Bello El-Rufai stated this in a Monday statement obtained by SunOnline.
A national daily (not SunOnline) had reported that the agency disclosed in a press statement that it recovered equipment capable of tapping conversations and sensitive security documents from El-Rufai’s Abuja home.
The report also quoted the commission as saying it obtained a legal order from a Magistrate Court in Bwari in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to detain el-Rufai for 14 days, which is due to expire on Thursday.
But the family vehemently denied the claims, insisting the commission was waging a media war against the ex-governor.
The statement reads, “The family of Mallam Nasir el-Rufai has noted with a mixture of contempt and amusement the recent litany of allegations, falsehoods, and theatrical posturing emanating from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“It is deeply unfortunate that a constitutionally established agency has descended into what can only be described as a circus of chicanery, apparently designed to prosecute a media war rather than adhere to the rule of law.
“We are compelled to set the record straight and expose the malicious intent behind this orchestrated smear campaign.”
Bello noted that ICPC’s press statement presented a “list of seized equipment designed to conjure images of espionage and criminality”, including phone tapping equipment.
“This list is a work of fiction, for reasons which will soon become known,” he said.
He added that this supposed list has not been endorsed by Mallam el-Rufai or his legal representatives.
He admitted that the family was present when the items were seized but emphasised that “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”.
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Bello maintained that the alleged “sophisticated tapping equipment” and “sensitive security documents” exist only in the fevered imagination of the ICPC and its press team.
He accused the ICPC of ludicrously attempting to weaponise the silence of Mallam El-Rufai’s silence and non-cooperation, claiming he “refused to cooperate.”
He stated that the commission must be compelled to take note of the most basic tenet of Nigerian jurisprudence – that the constitution guarantees every citizen the right to remain silent.
“This is not an act of non-cooperation; it is a fundamental human right. No law enforcement agency, regardless of its frustration at a failed operation, is entitled to draw any negative inference from a citizen’s decision to exercise this constitutional hermetic seal.
“That the ICPC believes silence implies guilt is a confession of their own inquisitorial mindset and their disregard for the very laws they are sworn to uphold,” he stated.
He told the ICPC to heed his father’s challenge to charge him to court if they have any case against him.
“This challenge cannot be met. It is the reason for these lies and obfuscation by ICPC,” he said.
Bello said the “entire foundation of this investigation is rotten”.
He added, “The search that purportedly uncovered these phantom items originated from a legally defective warrant.
“We have credible evidence that the warrant was a forgery, fraudulently procured and presented by a Magistrate who was, bizarrely, purporting to sit in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
“An illegality of this magnitude—a forgery at the very inception of a state-sponsored search—renders everything that follows it inadmissible and void.
“Our lawyers have challenged this illegitimate warrant in a court of competent jurisdiction.
“The ICPC is welcome to explain in court how a Magistrate conjured the jurisdiction of a High Court to sign a warrant based on false premises.”
