The family of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai has broken its silence over his continued detention by the ICPC.
In a statement issued on Friday in Abuja, the family declared that El-Rufai’s detention has become “unlawful” and “brazen self-help” following the expiration of the only legal instrument authorizing his incarceration.
His son, Hon. Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, who represents Kaduna North Federal Constituency, revealed that the family has not been permitted to see their patriarch since he was taken into custody on February 18, 2026.
According to the statement, El-Rufai was first picked up by operatives of the ICPC on February 18. The following day, February 19, the anti-graft agency obtained a remand order from a magistrate court.
However, the family insists that order was “defective from the outset” and, by operation of law, provided only a 14-day window for his detention.
That window expired on March 5, 2026. Despite the lapse, El-Rufai remains in ICPC custody. The family noted that the commission has neither charged the former governor before any court of competent jurisdiction nor secured a fresh or extended order to justify his continued detention.
“The last time I saw him, he was eagerly awaiting his charge in a competent court of law,” the younger El-Rufai stated, expressing the family’s frustration and concern.
The statement was categorical in its condemnation of the ICPC’s actions. “We state categorically that there is currently no valid legal instrument authorizing his detention,” it read.
The family outlined the sequence of events: El-Rufai was taken into custody on February 18, 2026; the ICPC obtained a remand order from a magistrate court on February 19, but this order was legally flawed and only valid for 14 days; that 14-day period has now ended, and the ICPC has not charged him with any offense in a competent court, nor have they secured a fresh or extended lawful order.
The family did not mince words in assessing the motivations behind the continued detention. “This is no longer a matter of lawful procedure; it is unlawful, brazen self-help. The ICPC has failed in its fundamental obligation to either charge him before a court of competent jurisdiction or release him,” the statement said.
It added: “Their refusal to do so confirms what we have long feared—that the ICPC is being wielded as a tool for political persecution rather than operating as an impartial institution of justice.”
The family has issued a clear and unambiguous demand: release Nasir El-Rufai immediately. “The path forward is clear and logical: release him immediately,” the statement declared, calling on the ICPC to abide by the rule of law.
Nasir El-Rufai served as Governor of Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023. Since leaving office, he has remained an active voice in national politics and a strong critic of the Tinubu’s administration.
His detention has sparked reactions from political allies and civil society groups, with many questioning the legality of the prolonged custody.
As at the time of filing this report, the ICPC had not issued an official response to the family’s allegations. However, sources within the commission have previously indicated that investigations into the former governor’s tenure are ongoing.
Discussion about this post