Peter Obi Demands ICPC Give El-Rufai Same Fair Treatment as Other Defendants

NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi on Wednesday demanded that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ensure that former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai received the same fair and consistent treatment extended to all other defendants in its custody, saying the principle of equal justice must apply regardless of the political identity or past affiliations of the accused.

The Guardian Nigeria reported that Obi posted his demand publicly, signalling that his concern for El-Rufai was rooted in a principled position on due process rather than political solidarity, given that El-Rufai is an APC figure with whom the NDC leader has no political alignment. Obi said any perception that the ICPC was treating El-Rufai differently from other defendants, whether more harshly or more leniently, would damage public confidence in the independence and professionalism of anti-corruption institutions.

ICPC Under Scrutiny Over Doctor’s Arrest

The demand follows the ICPC’s arrest of El-Rufai’s personal physician Professor Bello Abubakar, after the commission alleged that a court-approved medical visit to the National Hospital in Abuja was used for political meetings. El-Rufai’s camp sharply criticised the arrest, alleging that the doctor was forcibly taken in front of the former governor’s family and that the commission was acting in bad faith.

El-Rufai’s ADC issued a statement rejecting what it described as the ICPC’s punitive conduct, demanding the immediate release of the physician and calling for transparency about the allegations against him. However, the ICPC said its operatives had discovered photographs posted on social media showing El-Rufai receiving multiple visitors during the designated medical consultation period, contradicting the purely medical purpose of the visit.

Trial Continues to Face Delays

Meanwhile, El-Rufai’s ICPC trial before the Kaduna State High Court remained stalled by the failure of co-defendants to appear for scheduled hearing dates. The commission said it would bring the matter of the alleged violation of court-approved conditions to the attention of the presiding judge. Consequently, the El-Rufai case is generating simultaneous controversies about ICPC conduct, medical access rights for detained defendants, and the pace of the trial itself.