Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has returned to court with another fundamental rights case against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), this time demanding N10bn over an alleged restriction on visits from his wife and son during his detention.
The case, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, is registered as FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026.
El-Rufai listed the ICPC as the main defendant, while the commission’s chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation were also named in the proceedings.
Represented by his counsel, Ubong Akpan, the former governor claimed that officials of the anti-corruption agency had stopped his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba El-Rufai, from seeing him.
He is asking the court to grant nine separate prayers, including a declaration that his constitutional protections remain valid despite being held by the authorities.
According to his claims, the restrictions became particularly problematic because his wife and son had been responsible for taking food, medicine and other necessities to him.
He maintained that preventing them from gaining access to him, without a valid legal basis or judicial approval, breached his rights to dignity and privacy under the 1999 Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
El-Rufai further accused ICPC personnel of confronting his wife and son when they attempted to visit him on July 7, alleging that the officials used physical restraint and intimidation.
He described the alleged conduct as an unjustified disruption of his relationship with his immediate family.
Among other things, the former governor wants the court to pronounce the restriction unlawful and set it aside.
He is also seeking an order compelling the authorities to allow him regular contact with his relatives and lawyers for as long as he remains in custody, relying on an earlier directive issued by the Federal High Court.
El-Rufai claimed that the alleged restrictions had denied him access to items needed for his welfare and had exposed him to emotional suffering, anxiety and humiliation.
An affidavit filed alongside the case was deposed to by Mohammed Shaba, El-Rufai’s Principal Secretary.
Shaba stated that the former governor was being held at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja and that details contained in his deposition were obtained from Asabe on July 12.
He explained that Asabe had previously taken responsibility for supplying her husband with meals, clothes, medication and other personal requirements during his detention.
The affidavit also referred to criminal proceedings against El-Rufai in Kaduna under charge number FHC/KD/73C/2025, in which the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the complainant.
Shaba said Justice R.M. Aikawa of the Kaduna division had, on April 1, directed the ICPC to give defendants in the matter access to their lawyers and personal medical practitioners whenever required.
He argued that the order demonstrated that detention does not remove a person’s entitlement to judicially protected rights or permit authorities to cut detainees off from their families.
According to the affidavit, El-Rufai remained entitled to protections provided by the Constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, including decent treatment while in custody and reasonable interaction with relatives.
Shaba said Asabe had been visiting her husband and bringing him food and other supplies before July 7 without encountering any difficulty.
The latest lawsuit represents another legal battle between El-Rufai and the ICPC following the commission’s investigation involving the former governor.
Earlier in February, El-Rufai commenced another N1bn fundamental rights case against the commission concerning an alleged search of his Abuja home.
In that matter, filed as FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, he questioned the legality of a warrant issued by an FCT Chief Magistrate and alleged that it was relied upon to conduct the search.
He argued that the operation infringed on his rights to dignity, liberty, fair hearing and privacy under the Constitution.
The case was subsequently amended, following which El-Rufai removed the magistrate who granted the warrant from the list of parties.
