The family of former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has declared that the alleged ‘sophisticated tapping equipment’ and ‘sensitive security documents’ exist only in the fevered imagination of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and its press team.
The family has therefore vowed that it will not be tried in the court of public opinion by a discredited Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), acting on behalf of political masters.
This was as the family declared that the alleged “sophisticated tapping equipment” and fathom “sensitive security documents” claimed to have been recovered by the Independent ICPC, exist only in the fevered imagination of the anti-corruption agency and its press team.
These were contained in a statement by son of the former governor, Hon Mohammed Bello El-Rufai on behalf of the family, in which he noted with a mixture of contempt and amusement what he described as the “recent litany of allegations, falsehoods, and theatrical posturing” emanating from the ICPC.
Hon El-Rufai further described ICPC as an organization so bereft of any redeeming feature of credibility that it must now manufacture evidence to justify its existence.
Hon El-Rufai said the family has instructed its legal team to pursue all available legal remedies to challenge the illegal search, the forged warrant, and the defamatory statements made by the ICPC.
El-Rufai said; “We have absolute faith that the Nigerian judiciary will see through this shameful charade and uphold the rights of our family against this executive overreach.
“It would not surprise us if the ICPC were to produce something of that nature in furtherance of its descent into infamy. After all a court of law has already lampooned ICPC in another matter, of procuring fake search warrants,” he said.
The family of El-Rufai further said that it was deeply unfortunate that a constitutionally established agency has descended into what can only be described as a circus of chicanery, apparently designed to prosecute a media war rather than adhere to the rule of law.
Bello El-Rufai said that the family is compelled to set the record straight and expose the malicious intent behind the orchestrated smear campaign.
While commenting “on the Right to Silence and Non-Cooperation”, the family of El-Rufai stressed that the ICPC believes in the understanding that silence implies guilt, is a confession of their own inquisitorial mindset and their disregard for the very laws they are sworn to uphold.
In the words of Bello El-Rufai; “The ICPC has ludicrously attempted to weaponize the silence of Mallam Nasir el-Rufai against him, claiming he “refused to cooperate.” We must educate the Commission on the most basic tenet of Nigerian jurisprudence: The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees every citizen the right to remain silent.
“This is not an act of non-cooperation; it is a fundamental human right. No law enforcement agency, regardless of its frustration at a failed operation, is entitled to draw any negative inference from a citizen’s decision to exercise this constitutional hermetic seal,” he said.
Bello El-Rufai said that Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has said in all interactions with law enforcement that they should charge him, if they have anything against him, adding that the ICPC has more than two years to investigate him, but yet to arrive at anything.
According to Bello El-Rufai; “This challenge cannot be met. It is the reason for these lies and obfuscation by ICPC. “The Fictitious Phone Tapping Equipment and List of Seized Items: The ICPC’s press statement presented a list of seized equipment designed to conjure images of espionage and criminality.
“This list is a work of fiction, for reasons which will soon become known.
“Endorsement: This list has not been endorsed by Mallam el-Rufai or his legal representatives.
“Reality: WE WERE PRESENT WHEN THESE ITEMS WERE SEIZED. No equipment other than old discarded personal mobile phones some dating back as much as 20 years, storage devices like flash drives and laptops, which are standard possessions of any 21st-century citizen, were seized from the property.
“The alleged ‘sophisticated tapping equipment’ and ‘sensitive security documents’ exist only in the fevered imagination of the ICPC and its press team.
“The Tainted Foundation: A Forged Warrant: The entire foundation of this investigation is rotten. The search that purportedly uncovered these phantom items originated from a legally defective warrant.
“We have credible evidence that the warrant was a forgery, fraudulently procured and presented by a Magistrate who was, bizarrely, purporting to sit in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
“An illegality of this magnitude—a forgery at the very inception of a state-sponsored search—renders everything that follows it inadmissible and void.
“Our lawyers have challenged this illegitimate warrant in a court of competent jurisdiction. The ICPC is welcome to explain in court how a Magistrate conjured the jurisdiction of a High Court to sign a warrant based on false premises.
“The ICPC’s Credibility Deficit: The ICPC’s statement is a textbook example of projection, the guilty person ascribing his crimes to his victim. It is a document riddled with the very offenses it is meant to combat.
“We see before us a litany of forgery, uttering of false documents, and the peddling of falsehood that is nothing short of criminal.
“This level of unprofessional conduct, abuse of office, and sheer chicanery is the hallmark of an organization that has been completely captured and weaponized,” Bello El-Rufai said.
