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) over an alleged denial of access to his wife and son while in custody.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026, was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 13, 2026.
El-Rufai, through his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, alleged that the ICPC prevented his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and son, Abba El-Rufai, from visiting him.
He also joined the ICPC chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as the second and third defendants in the suit.
The former governor is seeking nine reliefs, including a declaration that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution remain enforceable despite his detention.
He alleged that the repeated refusal to allow his family members access to him, particularly to provide food, medication and other necessities, without lawful justification or a court order violated his rights under Sections 34 and 37 of the Constitution and Articles 5 and 18 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
El-Rufai further alleged that ICPC officers physically restrained and intimidated his wife and son on July 7, describing the incident as an arbitrary interference with his spousal and family relationships.
He asked the court to declare that the respondents’ continued denial of family access without lawful authority was unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
He also sought an order directing the respondents to grant him “unhindered and reasonable access” to his family members and counsel throughout his detention, as earlier directed by the Federal High Court.
According to the former governor, the alleged denial of access prevented his wife and son from providing him with food, medication and other personal necessities.
He claimed that the situation had subjected him to humiliation, emotional trauma, anxiety and psychological distress.
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 said the information contained in the affidavit was supplied to him by Asabe on July 12.
According to him, Asabe had regularly provided her husband with food, clothing, medication and other personal necessities while he was in custody.
He also referenced an earlier order by Justice R.M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Kaduna, issued on April 1, directing the ICPC to allow the defendants access to their counsel and personal physicians whenever necessary.
Shaba argued that the order reflected the principle that detainees should not be held incommunicado and that the ICPC remained subject to judicial oversight over detention conditions.
The affidavit further stated that El-Rufai retained his fundamental rights under the Constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, including the right to humane treatment and reasonable access to family members.
Shaba said Asabe had regularly visited her husband and delivered meals and other items to him before July 7 without obstruction.
The fresh suit is the latest in a series of legal actions instituted by El-Rufai against the ICPC since the commission began investigating him.
In February, the former governor filed a separate N1 billion fundamental rights suit against the commission over the alleged unlawful search of his Abuja residence.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, challenged the validity of a search warrant issued by a Chief Magistrate of the Federal Capital Territory Magistrates’ Court.
El-Rufai alleged that the warrant was used to raid his residence and violated his fundamental rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the Constitution.
The N1 billion suit was subsequently amended, with El-Rufai removing the magistrate who issued the warrant as a defendant.
