News, Politics

El-Rufai Threatens N15.6bn Lawsuit Against ICPC Over Alleged Illegal Detention and Defamation

Published by Samuel Ayomide on March 6th, 2026.

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, has announced plans to file a N15.6 billion lawsuit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), citing unlawful detention and defamatory statements issued by the anti-graft agency.

In a pre-action notice dated March 4, 2026, and addressed to the ICPC Chairman, El-Rufai, through his lawyer Ubong Akpan, accused the commission of contempt of court, malicious prosecution, defamation, abuse of office, forgery, uttering false documents, and illegal detention. The notice was officially received at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja on March 5.

The legal document challenged a press statement issued by ICPC on March 2, alleging that El-Rufai had refused to cooperate with its investigation. The notice described the statement as a “ludicrous attempt to weaponise our client’s exercise of his constitutional rights.” El-Rufai’s team argued that his constitutional right to remain silent under Sections 35(2) and 36(11) of the 1999 Constitution cannot be misrepresented as non-cooperation.

The notice also accused the ICPC of fabricating evidence and undermining the credibility of the commission as a law enforcement body. It stated, “You accuse our client of non-cooperation when it is you who have failed to charge him. You accuse him of possessing illegal equipment when it is you who has manufactured evidence.”

El-Rufai’s lawyers further alleged forgery of a remand order, perjury, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, and abuse of office by ICPC officials. The notice demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the former governor, the withdrawal of all defamatory statements, a public retraction and apology in three national newspapers, and preservation of all evidence relating to the search, seizure, and detention.

The former governor is seeking N5 billion in compensatory damages, N5 billion as exemplary damages, N5 billion in aggravated damages, N500 million for injurious falsehood, and N100 million for legal costs, bringing the total claim to N15.6 billion.

The ICPC had previously informed an FCT High Court that electronic equipment capable of intercepting telephone conversations was recovered during a search of El-Rufai’s Abuja residence. The investigation reportedly focuses on alleged financial irregularities during his tenure from 2015 to 2023, including €1.4 million and approximately 180 suspicious payments totaling over N2.1 billion.

El-Rufai’s family has denied the allegations, describing the seized devices as old mobile phones, laptops, and storage gadgets. His son, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, dismissed the claims as “falsehoods” and argued that the alleged interception equipment exists only in “the fevered imagination of the ICPC and its press team,” while also questioning the legality of the search warrant.

This follows an earlier N1 billion lawsuit filed by El-Rufai against the ICPC, challenging what he termed “the unlawful invasion” of his Abuja residence.