A media aide to former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai says the ICPC ignored pleas for medical care after his eyes swelled and became red and itchy while he was in custody.
Muyiwa Adekeye told reporters, El-Rufai developed “swollen, reddish and itchy eyes” and asked to see a doctor — but the anti-graft agency did not act. Family members who visited also saw the problem and asked ICPC officials to help. Two officials looked at him, Adekeye said.
“Two ICPC officials checked and saw the condition of his eyes. This was expected to prompt either a hospital visit or for a doctor to be summoned to attend to him. However, no medical attention was arranged,” Adekeye stated.
He added that an ICPC official named Henry told a family member the former governor “did not wish to see a doctor,” a claim Adekeye calls false and insensitive. El-Rufai had been to an eye clinic on June 4, but his condition reportedly worsened overnight. “The wives who visited him today found him in great discomfort and were alarmed by the condition of his eyes,” Adekeye said.
Adekeye said El-Rufai’s lawyers had a court order allowing access to doctors because of recurring eye problems, and accused the ICPC of ignoring that order and its duty of care.
“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.
“No agency of government is allowed to be indifferent to the medical condition of a person in its custody. The ICPC must respect the human rights of persons in its custody, obey court orders and allow them access to the medical treatment that they require,” he added.
