Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has filed a fresh ₦10 billion lawsuit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging that the anti-corruption agency denied his wife and son access to him while he was in custody.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, 2026, also names the ICPC Chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation as defendants.
El-Rufai, through his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, is asking the court to affirm that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution remain enforceable despite his detention by the commission.
According to the court filing, the former governor alleges that ICPC officials repeatedly prevented his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba El-Rufai, from visiting him.
He claims that the restrictions affected his ability to receive food, medication and other essential items from his family and were imposed without lawful justification or a court order.
El-Rufai further alleges that ICPC officials physically restrained and intimidated his wife and son during an incident on July 7. He argues that the alleged conduct interfered with his family relationships and violated his constitutional protections.
The former governor is relying on Sections 34 and 37 of the Nigerian Constitution, as well as Articles 5 and 18 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in challenging the alleged restrictions.
He wants the court to declare that the alleged treatment violated his rights to dignity and private and family life.
El-Rufai is also asking the court to declare unconstitutional the continued denial of access to his family members without lawful authority.
The suit contains nine separate reliefs, including a claim for ₦10 billion in damages over the alleged violations.
The new case is the latest development in a wider dispute between the former governor and the anti-corruption agency.
In July, the ICPC accused El-Rufai of breaching conditions attached to a court-approved medical visit and also announced the arrest of his personal physician, Professor Bello Abubakar. The commission alleged that the doctor made false statements connected to the medical visit.
The ICPC said the medical visit to the National Hospital in Abuja on July 7 had been facilitated in accordance with a court directive and that its officers respected El-Rufai’s privacy during the consultation.
El-Rufai, however, rejected the commission’s account, arguing through his media adviser that the circumstances surrounding his health, court appearance and medical treatment had been misrepresented.
His family had also publicly raised concerns about his access to medical care, lawyers and relatives while in custody.
The latest ₦10 billion suit therefore adds a separate constitutional-rights dispute to the broader legal proceedings involving the former governor.
Important: The allegations in the new suit are claims made by El-Rufai and have not been established by the court. The ICPC’s response to this latest suit will be important in determining how the competing accounts are presented before the court.
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