Family, Supporters of Ex-Gov El-Rufai Protest at DSS Headquarters Over Continued Detention

A protest by family members, political allies, and supporters of former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, disrupted the area around the headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja on Monday. The group accused security agencies of keeping the former governor in custody for 91 days and violating court orders that stipulated he be remanded under the care of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Among the protesters were El-Rufai’s son, Bello, a member of the House of Representatives, Senator Lawal Adamu Usman representing Kaduna Central, and the former governor’s second wife, Asia. They alleged that El-Rufai was being subjected to psychological harassment and denied access to medical care and legal rights, despite existing court directives.

Asia told journalists that the family lives in constant fear, citing threats of house raids and phone tapping. She explained that earlier on Monday, El-Rufai appeared before a Federal High Court judge who granted him bail. However, during a court break, he was taken to a DSS facility.

According to her, the former governor resisted the move, insisting that a Kaduna court order required him to be held by the ICPC, not the DSS. She said El-Rufai had refused to leave the vehicle that brought him to the DSS headquarters.

The family further alleged that El-Rufai had been denied access to his personal physicians, despite a clear court order granting such access. Medical arrangements made through the ICPC reportedly broke down, leaving the former governor without proper care.

Senator Lawal Adamu demanded El-Rufai’s immediate release or his return to ICPC custody in line with court orders, calling the continued detention a politically motivated psychological ordeal.

El-Rufai’s son, Bello, criticised the bail conditions as excessively stringent. He noted that the requirements including an attestation from the Kaduna State Council of Chiefs and a Level 17 civil servant with a house in highbrow Abuja districts were practically impossible for most people to meet. He questioned why anyone would be kept for 91 days under such terms.

A director of a support group for the former governor described the situation as psychological torture, pointing out that El-Rufai’s personal belongings remained with the ICPC and that moving him to a different environment after court proceedings amounted to deliberate torment.

The protesters called for an end to what they described as harassment and for the immediate restoration of El-Rufai’s medical and legal access as ordered by the courts.