El-Rufai Files Fresh N10bn Suit Against ICPC Over Alleged Denial of Family Access
By Nafiu Muhammad Lema
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has instituted a fresh N10 billion fundamental rights suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over the alleged denial of access to his wife and son while in custody.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026, was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, 2026.
El-Rufai, through his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, accused the ICPC of preventing his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and son, Abba El-Rufai, from visiting him.
The ICPC Chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation were also joined as the second and third defendants in the case.
Among the nine reliefs sought, the former governor is asking the court to declare that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution remain enforceable despite his detention.
He alleged that the repeated denial of access to his family members, particularly for the purpose of providing him with food, medication and other necessities, violated his constitutional rights to dignity and privacy.
El-Rufai further alleged that ICPC officials physically restrained and intimidated his wife and son during an incident on July 7, describing the action as an unlawful interference with his family relationships.
He is asking the court to declare the alleged continued denial of family access without lawful authority unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
He is also seeking an order compelling the respondents to grant him unhindered and reasonable access to his family members and legal representatives throughout his detention, in line with an earlier order of the Federal High Court.
According to the former governor, the alleged restriction has subjected him to humiliation, emotional trauma, anxiety and psychological distress.
In an affidavit filed in support of the case, El-Rufai’s Principal Secretary, Mohammed Shaba, stated that the former governor is being detained at the ICPC office in Abuja.
Shaba said information contained in the affidavit was supplied to him by Asabe, who he said had regularly provided her husband with food, clothing, medication and other personal necessities while he was in custody.
He also referred to an earlier order issued by Justice R.M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Kaduna on April 1, directing the ICPC to allow the defendants access to their lawyers and personal physicians whenever required.
According to Shaba, the order demonstrated that detainees should not be held incommunicado and that the ICPC remains subject to judicial oversight concerning the conditions of detention.
He argued that El-Rufai continued to enjoy his fundamental rights under the Constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, including the right to humane treatment and reasonable family access.
The affidavit further stated that Asabe had regularly visited her husband and delivered meals and other items to him before July 7 without obstruction.
The latest case is one of several legal actions filed by El-Rufai against the ICPC since the commission commenced investigations involving him.
In February 2026, the former governor filed a separate N1 billion fundamental rights suit challenging an alleged search of his Abuja residence.
That case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, questioned the validity of a search warrant issued by a Chief Magistrate of the Federal Capital Territory.
El-Rufai had alleged that the search violated his rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing and privacy under the 1999 Constitution.
The N1 billion case was subsequently amended, with the former governor removing the magistrate who issued the warrant from the list of defendants.
