Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has filed a fresh N10 billion suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, alleging that the commission unlawfully prevented his wife and son from having access to him while in custody.
El-Rufai instituted the suit through his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, before the Federal High Court in Abuja. He also joined the ICPC Chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, as the second and third defendants in the case.
The originating motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026 and filed on August 13, was sighted on Sunday by the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
In the suit, the former governor is seeking nine reliefs, including declarations that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution remain valid and enforceable despite his detention by the ICPC.
El-Rufai alleged that repeated denial of access to his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba El-Rufai, particularly for the purpose of providing him with food, medication and other necessities, amounted to a violation of his constitutional rights.
He said the alleged denial breached his rights to dignity and private and family life as guaranteed under Sections 34 and 37 of the Constitution, as well as Articles 5 and 18 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The former governor also alleged that ICPC officers physically restrained and intimidated his wife and son on July 7, describing the incident as an unlawful interference with his family relationships.
He asked the court to declare that the continued denial of access to his family members without lawful authority was unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
El-Rufai further sought an order directing the respondents to grant him unhindered and reasonable access to members of his family and legal representatives throughout his detention, in line with an earlier order of the Federal High Court.
He argued that despite the existing court order permitting his family members and lawyers to visit him, the respondents had continued to prevent his wife and son from accessing him without justification.
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According to him, the alleged action had prevented his family from providing him with food, medication and other personal necessities.
He claimed that the situation had subjected him 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,” he alleged.
In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, El-Rufai’s Principal Secretary, Mohammed Shaba, said it was common knowledge that the former governor was being detained by the ICPC at its Abuja office.
Shaba said the information contained in the affidavit was supplied to him by Asabe, El-Rufai’s wife, on July 12. According to him, Asabe had been personally responsible for providing her husband with food, clothing, medication and other necessities required for his comfort, health and well-being while in custody.
He said El-Rufai is also a defendant in charge number FHC/KD/73C/2025 before the Federal High Court, Kaduna Judicial Division, in which the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the complainant.
Shaba stated that on April 1, the Federal High Court in Kaduna, presided over by Justice R. M. Aikawa, ordered the ICPC to allow the defendants access to their lawyers and personal physicians whenever necessary.
He argued that the order reinforced the principle that detainees should not be held incommunicado and that detention conditions remain subject to judicial oversight.
He further maintained that El-Rufai retained his fundamental rights under the Constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015, including the right to humane treatment and reasonable access to family members.
Giving further details of the alleged denial of access, Shaba said Asabe had regularly visited her husband before July 7 and delivered meals and other personal items to him without obstruction.
He said the visits were conducted in accordance with established ICPC procedures and the former governor’s constitutional and statutory rights.
El-Rufai is now asking the Federal High Court to determine whether the alleged restrictions imposed on his family members were lawful and whether they amounted to violations of his fundamental rights.
The allegations contained in the suit are yet to be determined by the court, while the ICPC and other defendants are expected to respond to the claims.
NAN
