Embattled former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, has threatened to file a N15.6bn suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, over what he described as his alleged illegal 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 a false document, and unlawful detention.
The letter, received at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja on March 5, 2026, alleged that the commission issued a defamatory press statement on March 2, 2026, claiming that the former governor refused to cooperate with its investigation.
“Your press statement ludicrously attempts to weaponise our client’s exercise of his constitutional rights, claiming he has ‘refused to cooperate with the Commission’s investigation,’” the letter read.
El-Rufai’s legal team argued that the claim misrepresented his constitutional right to remain silent, noting that Sections 35(2) and 36(11) of the 1999 Constitution protect every citizen’s right to silence during investigations, which cannot be construed as non-cooperation.
The notice further accused the ICPC of fabricating evidence and undermining its credibility as a law enforcement institution. “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,” the letter stated.
El-Rufai’s lawyers alleged that ICPC officials engaged in forgery of a remand order, fabrication of evidence, perjury, malicious prosecution, abuse of office, false imprisonment, and defamation.
They demanded his immediate and unconditional release, as well as the withdrawal of defamatory statements, a public retraction and apology in three national newspapers, and preservation of all evidence relating to the search, seizure, and detention of the former governor.
“You are hereby on notice to preserve all evidence, including all seized items, all internal communications, all affidavits, and all records relating to the search and detention of our client,” the notice stated.
El-Rufai is seeking N5bn as compensatory damages, N5bn as exemplary damages, N5bn as aggravated damages, N500m for injurious falsehood, and N100m for legal costs, totalling N15.6 billion.
The ICPC had informed an FCT High Court that it recovered electronic equipment allegedly capable of intercepting telephone conversations during a search of El-Rufai’s Abuja residence.
The investigation centres on alleged financial irregularities during his tenure as governor between 2015 and 2023, including €1.4m and approximately 180 suspicious payments totalling over N2.1bn.
El-Rufai’s family has denied the allegations, describing the seized items as old mobile phones, laptops, and storage devices.
His son, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, called the claims “falsehoods,” insisting that the alleged interception devices existed only in “the fevered imagination of the ICPC and its press team,” while also challenging the legality of the search warrant.
The former governor had earlier slammed N1bn suit on the ICPC, challenging what he described as the “unlawful invasion” of his Abuja residence.
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