El-Rufai also joined the ICPC Chairman, Mr Musa Aliyu, SAN, and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as respondents in the suit.
The former governor alleged that the respondents prevented him from accessing his wife, Mrs Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba, while they were in custody.
Justice Chigozie Onah fixed the judgment date on Tuesday after counsel to the parties adopted their court processes and presented their final arguments.
The lawyers were Mr Ubong Akpan for El-Rufai, Ms Yetunde Mosunmola for the ICPC and its chairman, and Mrs Maimuna Lami-Shiru, who represented the AGF.
Earlier, the judge directed the parties to play and examine footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at the ICPC office, allowing each side 20 minutes to present relevant portions in support of its arguments.
The commission, through Mosunmola, played excerpts of the recordings, including footage of an incident on July 7 when Asabe, escorted by an officer, reportedly delivered food to the former governor at about 2:37 p.m. Other footage relating to Abba and an incident on July 4 was also presented.
Mosunmola urged the court to dismiss El-Rufai’s claims, while Akpan requested that some portions of the recordings be replayed.
Akpan argued that the footage did not establish that either Abba or Asabe had breached security protocols in a manner that justified denying them access to the detained former governor. After the recordings were examined, the parties adopted their respective court processes.
El-Rufai’s arguments
Adopting his processes, Akpan said the originating suit was filed on Aug. 13 and supported by an originating motion, an eight-paragraph affidavit, exhibits and a written address.
He added that four additional affidavits had been filed in support of the application and urged the court to grant all the reliefs sought.
The lawyer asked the court to determine whether the respondents had presented sufficient evidence to justify their decision to restrict El-Rufai’s wife from visiting him.
He argued that any denial of access to a detained person’s relatives must be justified by verifiable facts.
“I, therefore, submit that none of the materials before my lord shows verifiability and justification,” he said.
Akpan further argued that denying the former governor access to his relatives amounted to a breach of the law, including the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, commonly known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.
When the judge asked whether the rules were enforceable in Nigeria, Akpan described them as international standards guiding the conduct of law enforcement and custodial authorities.
ICPC defends access restrictions
Mosunmola disagreed with El-Rufai’s submissions, saying the ICPC and its chairman had filed three processes in opposition to the suit.
She said these included a 27-paragraph counter-affidavit, four exhibits, a written address filed on Aug. 31, and a further counter-affidavit filed on Sept. 28.
Relying on the affidavits and accompanying exhibits, she urged the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
The lawyer maintained that El-Rufai was in lawful custody and that visits to him had to comply with the security protocols governing the facility.
She argued that the CCTV footage showed that Asabe had breached security procedures on two occasions, necessitating a review of the commission’s access arrangements.
According to her, restrictions were imposed because of Asabe’s alleged conduct, not because of her relationship with the former governor. “Access is regulated by rules for security reasons, my lord,” she said.
Mosunmola alleged that Asabe was smuggled into the ICPC premises on July 4 with the assistance of officers on duty, who were subsequently subjected to disciplinary action, including the dismissal of one officer.
She added that the footage showed that El-Rufai’s other wife and other family members were allowed to visit him.
The lawyer urged the court to hold that the commission had not unlawfully interfered with the former governor’s fundamental rights.
AGF urges court to dismiss suit
In her submission, Lami-Shiru, Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law, said the AGF had filed a seven-paragraph affidavit on Sept. 11, alongside a written address and a reply on points of law.
She urged the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that the ICPC and its chairman acted within the law and that El-Rufai’s wife had breached the commission’s security protocols. After listening to the parties, Justice Onah adjourned the matter until Dec. 8 for judgment.
Background to the suit
NAN reports that El-Rufai instituted the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026, on Aug. 13 through Akpan, seeking N10 billion in damages over the alleged denial of access to his wife and son while in custody.
He sought nine reliefs, including a declaration that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, remained in force and must be respected despite his detention.
In a joint counter-affidavit filed by the ICPC and its chairman, John Uche, a Chief Anti-Corruption Assistant in the commission’s Internal Security Support Unit, disputed several claims in El-Rufai’s affidavit.
Uche said the former governor was being held lawfully under an order of the Federal High Court, Kaduna Judicial Division, in charge No. FHC/KD/73C/2025.
He stated that on July 7, the commission facilitated a visit to El-Rufai’s personal physician in compliance with a court order permitting access to the doctor. The visit was accompanied by ICPC officers and Asabe.
According to Uche, the commission subsequently received a report alleging that the medical visit had been turned into a political meeting, raising concerns about possible weaknesses in its security arrangements.
He said the commission consequently introduced temporary restrictions on nonessential visits while it reviewed its access-control procedures.
Uche also alleged that Abba attempted to gain entry into the ICPC premises on July 7 but was denied access. He claimed that the younger El-Rufai subsequently lay in a gutter and repeatedly rubbed his leg against its edge.
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The officer said the commission’s CCTV system recorded activities within and around its premises and that the stored footage had not been altered or tampered with.
He further alleged that Asabe entered the premises after official visiting hours on July 4, at about 7:35 p.m., with the assistance of some officers who were subsequently subjected to disciplinary proceedings.
Uche said the commission considered the alleged repeated breaches of access-control procedures a specific security risk and reviewed the arrangements governing visits to the former governor. The court is expected to deliver its judgment on Dec. 8.
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