By Sabiu Abdullahi
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has instituted a fresh N10 billion suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged restrictions on visits by members of his family while in detention.
The case was filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, 2026, through his lawyer, Ubong Akpan.
El-Rufai is asking the court to enforce what he considers his fundamental rights during his detention. He alleged that ICPC officials prevented his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and son, Abba El-Rufai, from gaining access to him.
The former governor also listed the ICPC chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation as defendants in the suit.
According to the case, El-Rufai maintains that his constitutional rights remain applicable despite his detention. He alleged that preventing his family from visiting him, especially when they sought to bring food, medication and other essential items, amounted to unlawful treatment.
He further alleged that ICPC officials physically restrained and intimidated his wife and son during an incident on July 7.
El-Rufai asked the court to declare that “the respondents’ continued denial of family access without lawful authority is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.”
He also urged the court to compel the ICPC to provide him with “unhindered and reasonable access to members of his family and counsel throughout the period of his detention as earlier directed by the Federal High Court.”
The former governor claimed that the alleged restrictions had subjected him to “humiliation, emotional trauma, anxiety and psychological distress.”
He accused the commission of acting “arbitrarily, unlawfully and in a manner inconsistent with Sections 34, 37 and 46 of the Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”
In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, El-Rufai’s Principal Secretary, Mohammed Shaba, stated that the former governor was being detained at the ICPC office in Abuja.
Shaba said El-Rufai’s wife had been regularly providing him with “food, clothing, medication, and other personal necessities required for his comfort, health, and well-being while in custody.”
He also cited an earlier ruling by Justice R.M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Kaduna, which directed the ICPC to allow access to lawyers and personal doctors whenever necessary.
Shaba argued that the earlier order demonstrated that detainees should not be held incommunicado and that the ICPC remains subject to judicial oversight over the conditions of detention.
