Tag: El-Rufai

A Chief Magistrate Court in Bwari, Abuja, has approved the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to extend the detention of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai by 14 days. The order, issued Thursday by Chief Magistrate Okechukwu John Akweke, is to allow the anti-graft agency to complete its investigation into allegations of money laundering and abuse of office. The remand will run until March 19, 2026. Court documents show the order was granted in the presence of El-Rufai’s lawyer following an application by the ICPC. Prosecuting counsel Dr. Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha requested the court to authorize the continued detention until investigations are concluded. The court stated: “An order of this Honourable Court issuing a remand warrant against the Respondent (NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI) in favour of the Applicant i.e. Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to detain the Respondent… in its custody for another fourteen (14) days pending conclusion of investigation activities on allegations of Money Laundering/abuse of office.” It added, “Application granted as prayed. That the Applicant i.e. ICPC is hereby ordered to re-detain the Respondent for additional 14 days to enable the commission conclude investigation activities. The return date shall be 19th day of March 2026, for report of compliance.” El-Rufai’s lawyer, Ukpong Esop Akpan, has challenged the new remand order, following a previous failed attempt to nullify the first detention. The court is set to rule on the challenge on March 17. An ICPC source told The Nation that the commission is not persecuting the former governor and that all actions comply with legal procedures. “With a Senior Advocate of Nigeria as our chairman, we cannot detain any suspect without a valid court order. El-Rufai’s legal team has been involved in all proceedings. The first remand order was challenged and dismissed; the second will be ruled on March 17,” the source said. The source added that the ICPC is acting on a petition against El-Rufai and that the chairman has no personal interest in the matter. “Equity demands that we hear from him,” the source said.

The family of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai has demanded his immediate release from the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), insisting that his detention is unlawful. In a statement signed by his son, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, the family said the former Federal Capital Territory minister has remained in ICPC custody despite the expiration of the initial court order that allowed his detention. El-Rufai was first taken into custody on February 18, 2026, after responding to an ICPC invitation. A magistrate’s court issued a 14-day remand order the following day, but the family noted that the detention period has since lapsed without any charges being filed or a fresh order obtained to justify keeping him in custody. “As of today, there is no valid legal instrument authorising his detention,” the statement said, calling the ICPC action “unlawful” and demanding his immediate release. The call comes amid heightened legal and political tensions following a raid on El-Rufai’s Abuja residence by ICPC operatives on February 19. According to his media adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye, officials arrived around 2 p.m. and conducted a search of the property. El-Rufai’s lawyer, Ubong Akpan, condemned the operation as “unlawful and a clear violation of legal procedures and fundamental rights.” While the ICPC confirmed his detention in connection with an ongoing investigation, it provided no details about the case. In response to the raid, El-Rufai filed a ₦1 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit against the ICPC. Led by Oluwole Iyamu (SAN), his legal team is challenging the constitutionality of the search warrant, arguing it violated his rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy. The matter has attracted national attention, particularly as El-Rufai has recently criticised the Federal Government and aligned with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 general elections. The family insists that the ICPC must either charge El-Rufai in court or release him immediately, warning that continued detention without lawful authority undermines due process and the rule of law.

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has filed a pre-action notice and petition with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), seeking N15.6 billion in damages over what he claims were unlawful detention and other violations. The petition, dated March 4, 2026, was submitted to the ICPC headquarters in Abuja by a law firm led by Ubong Akpan. El-Rufai has been in ICPC custody since the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) granted him bail on February 18, 2026. This is not his first legal dispute with the anti-graft agency; he previously filed a N1 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit following a raid on his residence by ICPC operatives. In the latest petition, El-Rufai is claiming damages for alleged defamation, abuse of office, forgery, uttering false documents, malicious prosecution, contempt of court, and violation of his fundamental rights. Akpan described a recent ICPC statement about El-Rufai as reckless, defamatory, and legally untenable. The petition reads in part: “It is with profound regret, yet resolute determination, that we address you. The Commission, established to combat corruption and uphold integrity, has descended into what can only be described as a circus of chicanery, theatrical posturing, and media trial. Your press statement is not a communication from a law enforcement agency; it is the frantic scribbling of an organisation caught in illegality and attempting to justify the unjustifiable. “We place you on notice: this letter is a formal pre-action notice, the final courtesy before we unleash the full weight of the law for the catalogue of crimes, torts, and constitutional violations detailed below.” The damages breakdown is as follows: Compensatory damages: N5,000,000,000 Exemplary/Punitive damages: N5,000,000,000 Aggravated damages: N5,000,000,000 Damages for injurious falsehood: N500,000,000 Cost of action: N100,000,000 Total: N15,600,000,000.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said it recovered suspected wiretapping equipment from the Abuja residence of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, claiming the devices could intercept private conversations and access sensitive security information. Court documents reveal that the items were seized during a search conducted in the presence of El-Rufai’s wife, Hadiza, and his son, Mohammed Bello. The commission further alleged that El-Rufai refused to cooperate with investigators, choosing to remain silent until his formal arraignment, while one of his aides reportedly fled the country amid the probe. The ICPC disclosed these details in filings before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, where El-Rufai is challenging what he described as unlawful detention and violations of his fundamental rights. The agency said it obtained a 14-day detention order from a Magistrate Court in Bwari, FCT, to hold the former governor while investigations proceed, with the order set to expire on Thursday. Rejecting claims of political targeting, the ICPC urged the High Court to dismiss El-Rufai’s application. In its submissions, the commission also raised multiple corruption allegations against the former governor, including the alleged disappearance of €1.4 million, 180 questionable payments totaling N2,158,799,199 from Kaduna State’s internally generated revenue (IGR) account, and transfers of N428,122,180.18 to undisclosed accounts.