Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has filed a fresh ₦10 billion 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.
El-Rufai, through his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, also joined the ICPC Chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as second and third defendants in the suit.
The originating motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026 and filed on August 13, was sighted in Abuja on Sunday.
The former governor alleged that his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and son, Abba El-Rufai, were repeatedly prevented from seeing him while he was detained at the ICPC office in Abuja.
He asked the Federal High Court to declare that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution remained enforceable despite his detention.
El-Rufai argued that denying his family access to him, particularly when they needed to provide food, medication and other personal necessities, without a court order or lawful justification amounted to a violation of his rights.
He relied on Sections 34 and 37 of the 1999 Constitution, as well as Articles 5 and 18 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The former governor also asked the court to declare that the alleged treatment of his wife and son by ICPC officers on July 7 amounted to an unlawful interference with his rights to dignity and family life.
He further sought an order compelling the respondents to grant him reasonable access to his family members and lawyers throughout his detention.
According to El-Rufai, an earlier order of the Federal High Court had authorised access to his lawyers and family, but the ICPC allegedly failed to comply with the directive.
He claimed that the alleged restriction prevented his wife and son from delivering food, medication, clothing and other personal items to him.
The suit alleged that the development subjected him to humiliation, emotional trauma, anxiety and psychological distress.
El-Rufai maintained that the conduct of the respondents was arbitrary and unlawful, arguing that it was inconsistent with constitutional protections and provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, El-Rufai’s Principal Secretary, Mohammed Shaba, said the former governor was being detained at the ICPC office in Abuja.
Shaba stated that the information contained in the affidavit was supplied to him by El-Rufai’s wife on July 12.
According to him, Asabe had been responsible for providing her husband with meals, clothing, medication and other personal necessities since his detention.
He said she had regularly visited El-Rufai before July 7 without obstruction and that the visits were conducted in line with ICPC procedures and the rights of the detainee.
The affidavit also referenced a criminal case, marked FHC/KD/73C/2025, pending before the Federal High Court in Kaduna, in which El-Rufai is a defendant.
Shaba said Justice R.M. Aikawa had, on April 1, ordered the ICPC to allow the defendants access to their lawyers and personal physicians whenever required.
He argued that the order demonstrated that detainees should not be held incommunicado and that the ICPC remained subject to judicial oversight concerning detention conditions.
El-Rufai further argued that, irrespective of the court order, the Constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act entitled him to humane treatment and reasonable access to his family while in custody.
He is therefore asking the court to enforce those rights and award him ₦10 billion in damages over the alleged violations.
