Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has filed a fresh N10 billion fundamental rights suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging that the agency has prevented his wife and son from visiting him in detention.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja by his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, also names the ICPC chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation as defendants.
El-Rufai, who is currently in ICPC custody, is asking the court to declare that his detention does not extinguish his constitutional rights, particularly his rights to dignity and private and family life.
According to the originating motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026 and filed on August 13, the former governor alleged that his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and son, Abba El-Rufai, had been denied access to him despite an earlier court order permitting access to his lawyers and personal physicians.
He alleged that the restriction had also prevented his family from bringing him food, medication and other essential items.
El-Rufai is asking the court to declare the alleged denial of family access a violation of Sections 34 and 37 of the 1999 Constitution and Articles 5 and 18 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
He specifically wants the court to issue “a declaration that the respondents’ continued denial of family access without lawful authority is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.”
He is also seeking “an order directing the respondents to grant the applicant unhindered and reasonable access to members of his family and counsel throughout the period of his detention as earlier directed by the Federal High Court.”
The former governor cited an April 1 order of the Federal High Court in Kaduna, presided over by Justice R. M. Aikawa, which he said directed the ICPC to allow his lawyers and personal physicians access to him whenever required.
“Clearly, this order reflects the settled principle of law that detainees are not to be held incommunicado and that the ICPC is subject to judicial oversight regarding the conditions of detention,” he told the court.
El-Rufai further alleged that ICPC officials physically restrained and intimidated his wife and son on July 7, describing the incident as an unlawful interference with his relationship with his immediate family.
His legal team said the alleged treatment 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.”
“The respondents’ conduct amounts to an unjustifiable interference with the applicant’s dignity and family life and is therefore unconstitutional,” he alleged.
The latest case adds a new dimension to the legal battle surrounding El-Rufai’s detention, shifting attention from the legality of his custody to the conditions under which he is being held and his rights to maintain contact with his immediate family.
El-Rufai is currently being held by the ICPC in connection with allegations of fraud, abuse of office and money laundering relating to his tenure as Kaduna State governor between 2015 and 2023.
He has denied wrongdoing, while legal proceedings concerning his detention, bail applications and medical treatment remain ongoing.
