Hadiza Isma, wife of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has pushed back strongly against claims by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) that surveillance gadgets were uncovered during a search of their Abuja home.
Recall that the anti-corruption agency had stated that operatives recovered suspected wiretapping equipment capable of intercepting confidential communications and accessing classified security materials during a raid on the property.
But Hadiza dismissed the account outright, saying she witnessed the search and saw no such devices.
“I was there. No such equipment was found. They lie. But why? An agency with no credibility at all,” she wrote on X.
Her position was reinforced by her son, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, who represents Kaduna North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. He described the allegations as politically driven and unfounded.
In a statement titled “ICPC’s Phantom Phone Tapping Equipment Allegations Against Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai and the Constitutional Right to Silence,” the family accused the commission of turning what should have been a lawful investigation into what it termed a “circus of chicanery.”
According to the statement, the ICPC mischaracterised El-Rufai’s decision to exercise his constitutional right to remain silent, presenting it as a refusal to cooperate. The family argued that invoking the right to silence is protected under Nigerian law and cannot be interpreted as obstruction.
They further contended that the only items taken from the residence were old personal mobile phones, laptops and storage devices and other belongings. The so-called sophisticated tapping equipment, they insisted, was never found because it does not exist.
The family also questioned the legality of the operation, alleging that the search was conducted using a defective and possibly forged warrant, a development they say casts doubt on the entire exercise.
Beyond disputing the specific allegations, the statement accused the ICPC of acting unprofessionally, manufacturing evidence and operating under external influence, raising broader concerns about the agency’s credibility.
Mohammed Bello El-Rufai said the family has briefed its lawyers to challenge the search, the alleged warrant irregularities and the commission’s public claims in court. He expressed confidence that the judiciary would protect their constitutional rights.
