The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has conducted a search on the residence of former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, a move that adds a new dimension to ongoing investigations.
Muyiwa Adekeye, El-Rufai’s media aide, disclosed this on social media on Thursday.
According to Adekeye, the governor’s lawyer Ubong Akpan, condemned the action, describing it as “unlawful, and a clear violation of legal procedures and fundamental rights.”
This development comes a day after the agency announced that El-Rufai was in its custody.
According to a statement released by the commission on Wednesday, February 18, El-Rufai was being held in connection with ongoing investigations.
J. Okor Odey, ICPC’s Head of Media and Public Communications, stated that the former governor remained in the commission’s custody “as at close of work today”, without providing further details on the investigation or the expected duration of his detention.
The ICPC’s detention adds to ongoing scrutiny of El-Rufai, who has recently been involved in multiple probes by Nigerian anti-graft and security agencies.
Earlier, RBN reported that the former governor had been released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after spending three days in the agency’s custody.
El-Rufai who was being investigated over alleged misappropriation of Kaduna State government funds during his tenure as governor, was released at about 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, a coalition of survivors and families of victims of alleged abuses in Kaduna State has called for full accountability over actions they say occurred during the governorship of El-Rufai between 2015 and 2023.
The Kaduna Victims’ Coalition, which includes community and business leaders, public servants, traditional rulers, faith leaders, academics, journalists, and legal practitioners, said its members endured years of hardship, fear, and loss under the former governor’s administration.
In a statement released on Monday, the coalition highlighted high-profile cases symbolizing impunity during the period.
Beyond the ongoing investigation, the legal challenges deepened after the former governor disclosed, during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on February 13, that he and others intercepted the phone communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Following the disclosure, the Federal Government on Monday, through the Department of State Services (DSS), filed a three-count criminal charge against him at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In count one, the government alleged that the defendant’s admission constitutes an offence under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.
Count two accused him of stating during the same interview that he knew and related with individuals who intercepted the NSA’s phone communications without reporting them to relevant security agencies—an offence said to be punishable under Section 27 of the Act.
In count three, the prosecution further alleged that El-Rufai and others, still at large, used technical equipment or systems to unlawfully intercept the NSA’s phone communications, an act said to have compromised public safety and national security and instilled fear among Nigerians.
The counts were brought under Section 131(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, with El-Rufai listed as the sole defendant in the suit.
His detention by the EFCC and subsequent involvement of the ICPC come days after a failed attempt to arrest him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja upon his arrival from Cairo, Egypt.
Ubong Akpan, counsel to El-Rufai, had said an EFCC invitation was received while he was overseas but maintained that there was “no justifiable basis for this attempted arrest or the accompanying mistreatment.”
Subsequently, the ADC chieftain honoured the invitation by the EFCC and presented himself to investigators.