- A Federal High Court in Abuja ruled on how CCTV footage from an ICPC facility would be played in the ex-governor's case
- Justice Chigozie Onah rejected El-Rufai's bid to have the full six-hour recording shown in open court
- The ICPC told the court that a hospital visit by El-Rufai was turned into a political meeting, prompting tighter access controls
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ruled that CCTV footage from an Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) facility will be shown for only 20 minutes per side in open court, rejecting former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai's request for the full recording to be played.
Justice Chigozie Onah delivered the ruling on Thursday while considering separate motions filed by the ICPC and El-Rufai. The judge gave both parties 20 minutes each to show whichever portion of the footage they chose, starting at 1pm, and said the court "cannot be turned into a viewing centre." He noted that the court lacked the time to sit through a recording that runs for over six hours.
Source: Twitter
Justice Onah also sided with ICPC counsel Yetunde Mosunmola's argument that portions of the footage contained sensitive information that could expose the commission's facility to a security breach if screened in open court. He ruled that any full viewing of the video would have to take place in the judge's chambers.
El-Rufai's other prayers refused
The court also turned down El-Rufai's separate request for two ICPC officials, who had deposed to affidavits in the commission's processes, to appear in court for cross-examination. Justice Onah held that fundamental rights enforcement cases are classified as *sui generis* and are decided on affidavit evidence, making the relief legally unsustainable. All other reliefs sought by the former governor in his application were similarly refused.
The case stems from an originating motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026, which El-Rufai filed on August 13 through his lawyer, Ubong Akpan. In it, he claimed that the ICPC prevented his wife, Mrs Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba El-Rufai, from accessing him while he was in custody. He is seeking N10 billion in damages and nine other reliefs, including a declaration that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution cannot be suspended during his detention.
The ICPC, its chairman Musa Aliyu, SAN, and the Attorney-General of the Federation are named as the first to third respondents, respectively.
ICPC's account of events
In a counter-affidavit deposed to by John Uche, a Chief Anti-Corruption Assistant in the Internal Security Support Unit, the commission said many of El-Rufai's claims were false. Uche said the former governor was being held under a lawful court order issued by the Federal High Court in Kaduna, in charge number FHC/KD/73C/2025.
He said on July 7, the ICPC arranged a medical visit for El-Rufai, accompanied by its officers and his wife, in line with a court order. Shortly after, the commission received reports that the visit had been turned into a political meeting, which it described as a breach of security protocol. In response, the ICPC adopted a temporary measure restricting non-essential access to El-Rufai until the security vulnerability could be properly assessed and addressed.
Justice Onah adjourned the matter to November 3 at 1pm for a definite hearing of the substantive applications.
Source: Legit.ng