… Declares his detention illegal
Eshioromeh Sebastian
A former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, has initiated legal proceedings against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), demanding N15.6 billion in damages over what his legal team describes as an unlawful detention and a campaign of defamation against him.
In a formal pre-action notice issued by his solicitors, The Chambers of Ubong Akpan, the former governor declared his detention by the anti-graft agency as illegal, insisting that the remand order upon which the Commission claims to hold him is a nullity and amounts to a forgery.
The letter, addressed to the ICPC and copied to the Attorney-General of the Federation and other top officials, gives the Commission a 24-hour ultimatum to release him unconditionally or face a multi-billion naira lawsuit.
According to the letter signed by the Principal Partner of the firm, Ubong Esop Akpan, Esq., the ICPC has descended into what it described as “a circus of chicanery, theatrical posturing, and media trial” with its press statement of 2nd March, 2026.
The legal team accused the Commission of attempting to weaponize the former governor’s exercise of his constitutional right to silence, which they said does not amount to non-cooperation with investigators.
Their argument centres on a purported Remand Order dated 19th February, 2026, which the ICPC claims authorises El-Rufai’s detention.
The letter argues that the order was procured from a Chief Magistrate Court, a court which lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the offences cited, including money laundering.
The lawyers invoked a directive by a former Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Hon. Justice Ishaq Bello, which specifically barred magistrates from handling cases outside their jurisdiction, including those often brought by anti-graft agencies seeking remand warrants.
Citing the Supreme Court decision in Lufadeju & Anor v. Johnson, the legal team argued that any proceedings conducted by a court without jurisdiction are void ab initio and of no effect.
“The Commission has knowingly made use of fabricated evidence—the void Remand Order—to detain our Client. Every officer involved in presenting this document to the court, every officer involved in executing it, and every officer involved in relying upon it to continue this unlawful detention, is guilty of a felony punishable by up to seven years imprisonment”, the letter stated.
The letter further dismissed the Commission’s claim that its press statement was protected by legal privilege, arguing that the selective leak of alleged affidavit extracts to the media forfeits any such protection and constitutes an independent tort of defamation.
The lawyers specifically refuted claims that sophisticated phone tapping equipment was found during a search of El-Rufai’s property, describing the list of seized items as a work of fiction. They challenged the ICPC to produce the alleged equipment in open court for independent forensic examination.
On the economic implications of the Commission’s statement, the legal team introduced the tort of injurious falsehood, arguing that the false allegation of possessing wiretapping equipment directly attacks the former governor’s professional standing as a businessman and international consultant.
They disclosed that at least three international consulting contracts had already been put on hold or withdrawn as a direct consequence of the defamatory press statement, exposing the Commission to an additional and separate head of substantial damages.
The demands outlined in the letter include the immediate and unconditional release of El-Rufai, the withdrawal of the defamatory press statement, and the publication of a retraction in three national newspapers.
The legal team has also demanded the preservation of all evidence, including seized items and internal communications, warning that any tampering would result in separate criminal proceedings for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
On the monetary claims, the solicitors stated that their client would be seeking compensatory damages of N5 billion, exemplary damages of another N5 billion, aggravated damages of N5 billion, damages for injurious falsehood totalling N500 million, and costs of action set at N100 million, bringing the total demand to N15.6 billion.
The letter also served as a formal notice of intended proceedings, stating that unless the demands were met within 24 hours, the lawyers would proceed to file contempt proceedings against the ICPC Chairman before the Federal High Court, accelerate pending fundamental rights enforcement and bail applications, and commence civil proceedings for malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, defamation, and abuse of office against the Commission and its officers.
Additionally, they indicated plans to report the alleged forgery to appropriate bodies for criminal investigation and to petition the FCT Judicial Service Commission for disciplinary action against the magistrate who purportedly issued the void order.
Discussion about this post