El-Rufai Files Fresh ₦10bn Suit Against ICPC Over Alleged Denial of Family Access
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has filed a fresh ₦10 billion lawsuit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging that the agency prevented him from having access to his wife and son while in custody.
The suit, filed by his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, also names the ICPC Chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation as the second and third defendants.
The originating motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026, was filed on August 13, 2026, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
El-Rufai, who is currently being detained by the ICPC, is seeking nine separate reliefs from the court. He is asking the court to affirm that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution remain protected despite his detention.
He is also asking the court to declare that the alleged repeated denial of access to his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba El-Rufai, particularly in circumstances involving the provision of food, medication and other personal necessities, amounts to a violation of his constitutional rights.
Alleged violation of fundamental rights
The former governor argued that his rights to dignity and private and family life are protected under Sections 34 and 37 of the Constitution, as well as Articles 5 and 18 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
He further alleged that the physical restraint, intimidation and treatment allegedly experienced by his wife and son during an incident on July 7 amounted to unlawful interference with his relationship with his family.
El-Rufai is asking the court to declare that the continued denial of access to his family without lawful authority is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
He is also seeking an order directing the respondents to allow him reasonable access to his family members and legal representatives throughout his detention, in accordance with an earlier order of the Federal High Court.
According to him, although a court order was already in place permitting his lawyers and family members to have access to him, the ICPC allegedly prevented his wife and son from visiting without providing a valid legal justification.
The former governor claimed that the alleged actions subjected him to humiliation, emotional trauma, anxiety and psychological distress.
He argued that the respondents’ conduct amounted to an unjustifiable interference with his dignity and family life and violated provisions of the Constitution and the African Charter.
Previous court order
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’s Abuja office.
Shaba said the information contained in the affidavit was provided to him by Asabe, El-Rufai’s wife, on July 12.
According to him, Asabe had been responsible for providing her husband with food, clothing, medication and other personal necessities since his detention.
He also stated that El-Rufai is the first defendant/applicant in FHC/KD/73C/2025, a case before the Federal High Court in Kaduna in which the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the complainant.
Shaba said that on April 1, the Kaduna Federal High Court, presided over by Justice R. M. Aikawa, ordered the ICPC to allow the defendants access to their lawyers and personal physicians whenever necessary.
The former governor’s legal team contends that the order reinforces the principle that detainees should not be held incommunicado and that detention conditions remain subject to judicial oversight.
Alleged denial of family visits
Shaba further argued that, in addition to the court order, El-Rufai retains fundamental rights under the Constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, including humane treatment and reasonable access to family members.
He said Asabe had regularly visited her husband before July 7 and had been allowed to bring him meals and other personal items in accordance with the ICPC’s established visiting procedures.
The new suit therefore seeks judicial intervention over the alleged restriction of family access and other conditions surrounding El-Rufai’s detention.
The allegations contained in the suit are claims by El-Rufai and his representatives and remain subject to determination by the court.
