El-Rufai Has Spent 17 Days in ICPC Custody — Aide

A media aide to former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, Muyiwa Adekeye, has disclosed that the politician has spent 17 days in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Adekeye made the disclosure on Thursday while providing an update on the detention of the former governor.

According to him, federal government agencies have held El-Rufai since he voluntarily reported to the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on February 16, 2026.

In a statement he signed, Adekeye explained that El-Rufai was later transferred to the ICPC on the night of February 18 and has remained in its custody since then.

He added that the anti-graft agency obtained a 14-day remand warrant on February 19 to detain the former governor, which is expected to expire on March 5.

According to Adekeye, the commission indicated that it plans to charge El-Rufai in court before or on the expiration date of the remand order.

Meanwhile, the former governor’s family has rejected claims by the ICPC that wiretapping equipment was recovered during a search of his residence on March 2. His lawyers described the allegation as false and threatened legal action against the commission over what they termed defamatory claims.

Adekeye also disclosed that legal challenges have been filed against both the remand warrant and the search warrant used by the ICPC during the operation at El-Rufai’s residence on February 19.

He said the suit challenging the legality of the search warrant was heard on March 3 before Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja and was adjourned to March 11 to allow all parties to be properly served.

In the suit, El-Rufai is asking the court to declare the warrant invalid, citing lack of specificity, drafting errors, ambiguity and absence of probable cause. He is also seeking a declaration that the search violated his fundamental rights and an order restraining authorities from using any items recovered during the operation as evidence against him.

In a related development, Adekeye said Hussaini Belgore of the FCT High Court has forwarded the case file in El-Rufai’s fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Federal Government, the ICPC, the EFCC and the Department of State Services (DSS) to the Chief Judge of the FCT for reassignment after announcing plans to proceed on leave.

The case had earlier been scheduled for February 25 to hear an application for bail.

Adekeye further revealed that a separate arraignment involving the DSS at the Federal High Court did not proceed as scheduled on February 25 after prosecutors failed to produce the former governor in court.

According to him, the prosecution requested a two-week adjournment, while the defence argued that the security agency could easily secure his appearance since he was already in the custody of another federal agency.

Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter to April 23, 2026, while the court is yet to hear the former governor’s motions seeking to quash the charges and grant him bail.