Contrary to media reports, the family of Mallam Nasir el-Rufai has said that the claim by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) it found phone tapping equipment in the house was false.
The family in a statement issued Monday by the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Banking Regulations, Hon.
Bello El-Rufai maintained that the alleged “sophisticated tapping equipment” and “sensitive security documents” exist only in the fevered imagination of the ICPC and its press team.
The lawmaker said it is 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.
He noted: We are compelled to set the record straight and expose the malicious intent behind this orchestrated smear campaign.
“The ICPC has ludicrously attempted to weaponise 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.”
Bello said that the ICPC believes silence implies guilt is a confession of their own inquisitorial mindset and their disregard for the very laws they are sworn to uphold.
He added: ” 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.
“This list has not been endorsed by Mallam el-Rufai or his legal representatives.
b) 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.”