Politics
El-Rufai Files Fresh ₦10bn Suit Against ICPC For Allegedly Denying Him Access To Family
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has taken a fresh legal action against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
El+Rufai is demanding N10 billion in damages over the alleged denial of access to his wife and son while he was in custody.
The case was filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, 2026.
The ICPC chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) were also named as defendants in the suit, which is numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026.
El-Rufai is asking the court to affirm that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution remain protected even while he is being detained by the anti-corruption agency.
In the suit, the ex-governor alleged that ICPC officials repeatedly stopped his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba El-Rufai, from visiting him during his detention.
He claimed that the restrictions prevented his family from providing him with food, medication and other essential items, despite there being no valid court order or legal basis for the denial.
Nasir El-Rufai argued that the alleged treatment violated his constitutional rights to human dignity and privacy and family life.
He also cited Sections 34 and 37 of the Constitution and Articles 5 and 18 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The former governor further alleged that ICPC officers physically stopped and intimidated his wife and son during an incident on July 7.
He described the alleged conduct as unlawful interference with his relationship with his family.
El-Rufai wants the court to declare that preventing his wife and son from seeing him without lawful authority amounted to a violation of his fundamental rights.
He is also asking the court to rule that the continued restriction on family visits was unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid.
The suit contains nine separate requests for relief, including N10 billion in compensation for the alleged violations of his rights.
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