The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has condemned the alleged treatment of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, while in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), describing the development as “deplorable, unjustifiable and unacceptable.”
In a statement issued on Monday by its Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, the Islamic human rights organisation expressed concern over allegations that one of El-Rufai’s wives was prevented from giving him food during detention.
MURIC said it relied on a viral video circulating online in which El-Rufai’s wife accused the ICPC of denying family members access to him. The group also referenced comments by El-Rufai’s son, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, who reportedly accused the anti-corruption agency of violating his father’s rights.
According to the group, if the allegations are true, the action amounts to the use of starvation as a coercive tool against the former governor.
“If found to be true, it means ICPC is using starvation as a weapon to force Mallam El-Rufai to do things against his free will. It is Gestapo tactics. It constitutes a blatant violation of El-Rufai’s Allah-given fundamental human right,” the statement said.
MURIC further insisted that Nigerians would not accept what it described as “Gestapo treatment” from any government agency, urging the ICPC to provide an immediate explanation regarding the allegations.
The organisation questioned whether the commission intended to deny El-Rufai food or impose restrictions on the type of meals he could receive, stressing that nothing untoward must happen to the former governor while in custody.
“Mallam El-Rufai walked into the EFCC office looking healthy and fit. His family doctor knows his health condition. El-Rufai must not develop any strange ailment in ICPC facility,” the statement added.
The group also called on the media and civil society organisations to speak out over what it termed the “ongoing tribulations” of the former governor, warning that posterity would judge those who remain silent.
MURIC concluded the statement with the hashtags #JusticeForElRufai and #NoToICPCGestapoTactics.
