El-Rufai’s Aide Breaks Silence on Hospital Visit Controversy

Media aide to former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, Muyiwa Adekeye has dismissed claims that his principal violated any court order during his visit to the National Hospital in Abuja.

Naija News reports that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had arrested Bello Abubakar, personal physician to El-Rufai, for allegedly making false statements after his visit to the former governor.

However, Adekeye in a statement on Thursday said that the ICPC’s claim that the hospital visit was converted into a political meeting was inaccurate.

Adekeye said before July 6, the ICPC had been aware of El-Rufai’s request to see his personal physician.

The aide said the ICPC’s claim that El-Rufai had “no immediate medical complaints” before the July 7 visit to the national hospital was untrue.

Adekeye said the former governor’s family had requested that his medical consultation take place at the National Hospital at 5pm on July 7, when the hospital would be relatively quiet.

He added that the ICPC had “unilaterally rescheduled” the hospital visit from 5pm to 10am.

“After the consultation with his personal physician, Professor Bello Abubakar, an oncologist, in a private consultation room, Malam El-Rufai remained in a public area of the hospital’s private wing for approximately one hour while awaiting a written medical report, a report the ICPC itself required before he could be returned to custody,” Adekeye said.

“Some people became aware of his expected presence at the National Hospital and reached out with a request to see him, which was obliged, like in Isa Ashiru’s case.

“Other persons, who merely encountered him as he waited for his medical report, also came around for greetings as often happens when a prominent person is sighted.

“The ICPC’s narrative that this visit was converted into a political meeting takes no account of its own conduct.

“It was the commission that moved the appointment from a quiet 5:00pm slot to a high-traffic 10:00am slot, without notice to the family until that morning, and it was the commission’s own personnel who were stationed at the scene throughout.

“A narrative of political theatre engineered by the defence is not supported by a sequence in which the Commission itself selected the time, controlled the access and had its own officers present,” the statement added.

Adekeye stated that the ICPC claimed El-Rufai violated “court-approved medical visit” without specifying the terms of the court order in question.

He said the Kaduna high court’s order granted El-Rufai access to medical care while in custody and did not regulate or impose conditions on who could see him during the medical consultation.

“No such order is identified, not its date, its forum or its terms.

“The only order in existence on this subject is the order of Justice Aikawa of 1st April, 2026.

“That order directs that Malam El-Rufai be afforded access to medical care in custody;

“It does not regulate, restrict or impose conditions on who may see or be seen by him while that access is being exercised,” Adeleke said.

Adekeye insisted that Abubakar must be granted “immediate and unconditional release pending the ICPC’s disclosure of the specific allegation against him”.