El-Rufai Files Fresh ₦10bn Suit Against ICPC Over Alleged Denial of Family Access

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has filed a fresh ₦10 billion fundamental rights 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. The suit, filed by his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, also lists the Chairman of the ICPC and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as the second and third defendants. The originating motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026, was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, 2026. El-Rufai is asking the court to declare that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, remain valid and enforceable despite his detention by the commission.

According to the suit, the former governor alleges that the ICPC repeatedly prevented his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba El-Rufai, from seeing him while he was in custody. He contends that the alleged denial of access deprived him of the opportunity to receive food, medication and other necessities from his family without any lawful justification or court order. El-Rufai argued that the alleged actions violated rights 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. He further alleged that ICPC officers physically restrained and intimidated his wife and son during an incident on July 7, describing the action as an unlawful interference with his spousal and filial relationships.

The former governor is seeking nine reliefs, including declarations that his fundamental rights remain enforceable despite his detention and that the alleged repeated denial of access to his family members constituted a violation of his constitutional rights. He is specifically relying on Sections 34 and 37 of the Constitution, which deal with the right to dignity of the human person and privacy and family life, respectively, as well as Articles 5 and 18 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. El-Rufai is also asking the court to declare that the continued denial of access to his family members without lawful authority is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void. He is seeking ₦10 billion in monetary compensation for the alleged violations