Major opposition leader and former Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai bled in the nose overnight at the detention facility in Abuja.
This was just as one if his wives was prevented from delivering his meals to him directly but forced to hand it over to an official.
These claims were made by the former Governor’s Media Adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye as part of the updates on the detention of the former FCT Minister, who is currently one of the prime movers of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC).
NPO Reports that the former governor has been in detention after he voluntarily honoured an invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Today marks the ninth day that El-Rufai has been in detention moved from the EFCC to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Allied Offences Commission (ICPC).
This was after his passport had allegedly been snatched from him at the airport last week during a failed attempt to arrest him.
“On the night of 18th February, Malam El-Rufai was transferred to the custody of the ICPC without being told where he was being moved or why,” Adekeye alleged
Counting days in which his principal has been in detention, Adekeye wrote on Monday, “Today marks eight days since Malam Nasir El-Rufai was detained. He voluntarily reported at the EFCC in the morning of Monday, 16th February 2026 in response to an invitation. He has been held since, first by the EFCC which kept him in custody until the night of Wednesday, 18 February when he was moved to the ICPC. As at today, his lawyers have not received any response from the ICPC to their application for bail; and they have not been shown any remand order as the 48-hour window for holding a person without charge has expired.”
NPO Reports that officials of the ICPC had on February 19th alleged invaded el-Rufai’s residence searching for documents.
“Malam Nasir El-Rufai has asked a Federal High Court to declare the search warrant as invalid. The case, which seeks the enforcement of his fundamental rights, named as respondents the ICPC, the Chief Magistrate of the FCT, the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
” The case is seeking a declaration that the search warrant is invalid, for lack of particularity, material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, overbreadth and lack of probable cause. He is also asking for a declaration that the search constitutes a violation of his fundamental human rights and an injunction against the use of the items taken in the search in any proceedings against him.”
The Department of State Services (DSS) according to information available to the NPO Reports, will arraign him on February 25, 2026, for alleged cybercrime and security breaches.
Charges include the unlawful interception of the National Security Adviser’s (NSA) phone communications.
El-Rufai had expressed being privy to the interception during a television interview in Abuja.