The spouse and child of Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna state, have rejected assertions that advanced phone-tapping devices were confiscated from their residence during a raid by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
On February 19, the ICPC conducted a search at El-Rufai's home in Abuja, claiming to have discovered suspected wiretapping tools purportedly designed to intercept private conversations and access confidential security documents.
This information was revealed in legal documents submitted to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), wherein El-Rufai is contesting his detention and advocating for the protection of his fundamental human rights.
In a statement released on March 2, Mohammed El-Rufai, the former governor's son, described the ICPC's claims about the inclusion of phone-tapping devices as entirely untrue.
The statement partly reads:
‘The Allegations of Phone Tapping Equipment and List of Confiscated Items
The ICPC's public announcement included a list of items seized, aimed at invoking the impression of espionage and illegality. This list is fictitious, and clear reasons for this will soon emerge.
a) Endorsement: This list lacks endorsement by Mallam El-Rufai or his legal team.
b) Reality: WE WERE PRESENT DURING THE SEIZURE OF ITEMS. Nothing but old, discarded personal mobile phones—some of which are up to 20 years old—along with common items such as storage devices and laptops, were taken from the residence. The supposed advanced tapping equipment and sensitive documents exist solely in the imagination of the ICPC and its media representatives.
3\. The Corrupt Basis: A Forged Warrant:
The entire framework of this investigation is flawed. The search that allegedly uncovered these non-existent items stemmed from an improperly executed warrant. We have reliable evidence that the warrant was forged, fraudulently obtained, and presented by a Magistrate who falsely claimed authority in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory. Such a serious infraction—a forgery as the foundation of a state-sponsored search—renders everything that follows null and void. Our legal representatives are contesting this illegitimate warrant in a proper legal forum. The ICPC is invited to clarify in court how a Magistrate managed to fabricate a jurisdiction in the High Court to authorize a search based on misinformation.’
His wife, Hadiza, also took to X (formerly Twitter) to refute claims regarding the discovery of phone tapping devices in their home.
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