ABUJA, Nigeria — Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has sued the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission for ₦10 billion.
He alleges that the commission repeatedly prevented his wife and son from visiting him in detention.
The fundamental rights suit was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, August 13, 2026.
El-Rufai named the ICPC, its chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, as defendants.
The former governor said his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and son, Abba El-Rufai, had been denied access to him.
He alleged that the restrictions prevented them from bringing him food, medication and other personal necessities.
El-Rufai also accused ICPC officers of physically restraining and intimidating his wife and son during an attempted visit on July 7.
He argues that the alleged conduct violated his constitutional rights to dignity and private and family life.
“This action has subjected the applicant to humiliation, emotional trauma, anxiety and psychological distress,” he said in the court filing.
The allegations have not been determined by the court.
An affidavit supporting the suit was filed by El-Rufai’s principal secretary, Mohammed Shaba.
Shaba said El-Rufai was being held at the ICPC office in Abuja and that his wife had previously been allowed to provide meals, clothing, medication and other necessities.
He cited an April 1 order by Justice R.M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Kaduna directing the ICPC to allow defendants in a pending criminal case access to their lawyers and personal physicians when required.
El-Rufai is now asking the Abuja court to order what he described as “unhindered and reasonable access” to his family and lawyers throughout his detention.
He is also seeking declarations that detention does not extinguish the fundamental rights guaranteed to him under the Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The new action is another legal challenge brought by El-Rufai against the anti-corruption commission.
In February, he filed a separate ₦1 billion fundamental rights suit over the search of his Abuja residence.
That case challenged the warrant used during the operation and alleged violations of his rights to privacy, liberty, dignity and fair hearing.
The latest suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026, concerns the conditions under which El-Rufai says he is being held rather than the substance of the corruption allegations against him.
The ICPC had not publicly responded to the allegations in the new suit.
