Former Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has filed a fresh ₦10 billion suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The ex-governor filed a lawsuit against the ICPC for allegedly stopping him from seeing his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba El-Rufai, while they were in custody.
El-Rufai, in the suit filed by his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, also named the ICPC chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as the second and third defendants.
The originating motion, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026 and filed on 13 August, was sighted on Sunday by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
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The detained ex-governor, who claimed that his wife and son were denied access to see him, sought nine remedies.
He petitioned the court to declare that his fundamental human rights guaranteed under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) remain inviolable, in force, and to be respected despite his detention by the commission.
He also petitioned the court to declare that his repeated refusal and/or prevention from access to his family members while in custody, particularly in providing him with food, medication, and other necessities, without any lawful justification or court order, breached his rights. his rights. his rights. his rights. his rights. his rights.
Rights breach
He stated that these rights are protected under Sections 34 and 37 of the Constitution and Articles 5 and 18 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
El-Rufai requested a declaration that the physical restraint, intimidation, and treatment inflicted on Asabe and Abba by ICPC officers on 7 July, as well as their purported arbitrary interference with their spousal and filial relationship, constituted a violation and breach of his right to dignity and his right to private and family life. continued denial of family access without lawful authority is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
The former governor then asked the court for “an order directing the respondents to give the applicant free and reasonable access to members of his family and counsel throughout his detention, as previously ordered by the Federal High Court.
He argued that although the court’s order allowing his family members and lawyers to see him was in place, the respondents had prevented his wife and son from seeing him without a valid reason.
“This action has subjected the applicant to humiliation, emotional trauma, anxiety and psychological distress. The respondents acted 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.
“The respondents’ conduct amounts to an unjustifiable interference with the applicant’s dignity and family life and is therefore unconstitutional,” he alleged.
El-Rufai stated that he was entitled to the protection and enforcement of his fundamental rights by the honourable court under Section 46 of the 1999 Constitution and the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009.
In the affidavit supporting the suit, the ex-governor’s Principal Secretary, Mohammed Shaba, stated it was common knowledge that ICPC is detaining his boss at its Abuja office.
He stated that the facts in the affidavit were provided to him by Asabe, the lawful wife of the detainee, on 12 July.
He said Asabe told him that “since the detention of her husband by the ICPC, she has been personally responsible for providing him with food, clothing, medication, and other personal necessities required for his comfort, health, and well-being while in custody.”
He stated that El-Rufai is the first defendant/applicant in case number: FHC/KD/73C/2025, before the Federal High Court (FHC), Kaduna Judicial Division, in which the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the complainant.
He stated that on 1 April, the FHC in Kaduna, presided over by Justice R. M. Aikawa, issued an order instructing the ICPC to grant the defendants access to their counsel and personal physicians whenever they need to see them.
Clearly, this order affirms the well-established legal principle that detainees should not be held incommunicado and that the ICPC is subject to judicial oversight concerning detention conditions.
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Alleged denial of access
He stated that, besides the court order, El-Rufai, as a detainee, retains his basic rights under the constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, including humane treatment, reasonable access to family members, and the provision of food and medication by family members.
Shaba said that before 7 July, Asabe had been visiting her husband regularly and delivering meals and other items to him without obstruction.
He stated that this was in accordance with the established visiting procedures of the ICPC and the applicant’s constitutional and statutory rights.
(NAN)