El-Rufai: Bashir gives fresh update on father’s health, says family worried

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, is in good health and remains in high spirits despite his ongoing legal troubles, his son, Bashir El-Rufai, has said.

Bashir gave the update in a post on X on Monday amid growing public concern over the former governor’s condition in custody.

The update comes days after a Federal High Court in Abuja granted El-Rufai bail in the sum of ₦100 million over allegations bordering on breach of national security.

The former governor has remained in the news following the bail ruling, the conditions attached to his release and the controversy over access to him by family members, lawyers, medical personnel and political associates.

In his post, Bashir said many Nigerians had been asking about his father’s health.

According to him, El-Rufai was calm, witty and mentally strong when he last visited him.

“For those wondering, because I am constantly asked, Mallam is in good health, his spirit is high,” Bashir wrote.

He said the former governor remained composed despite what he described as injustice.

Bashir added that during his last visit, he almost forgot the circumstances surrounding his father because of the way El-Rufai carried himself.

He said the former governor was surrounded by books and legal briefs from his lawyers.

“The last time I visited days ago, I totally forgot where we were as he still remains calm and witty in the midst of all the injustice, surrounded by his mountain of books and legal briefs from his lawyers,” he said.

Bashir, however, admitted that the family and El-Rufai’s lawyers remained deeply worried about the situation.

“It is we, his family and lawyers, that are very bothered,” he added.

He further said his father was behaving like someone who understood something others did not know about the present situation and the future.

“Man is moving like he knows something we all don’t regarding the situation and future,” Bashir wrote.

“It is unsettling how one can be this level-headed and focused.”

El-Rufai’s case has continued to generate political reactions, especially after leaders of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, were reportedly denied access to him.

The ICPC later explained that the request by the ADC leaders could not be granted because of a subsisting court order restricting access to the former governor.

According to the commission, the order allowed only El-Rufai’s immediate family members, legal counsel and medical doctors to visit him.

The ADC had criticised the development, describing El-Rufai’s ordeal as political persecution.

But the ICPC insisted that it was acting in line with the court order and not on political instruction.