BY ANTHONY OCHELA, ABUJA
An Abuja Magistrate Court will on Tuesday, March 17, deliver its ruling on a new application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) seeking an extra 14 days to keep former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in custody.
The presiding magistrate, Okechukwu Akweke, had adjourned the case last week to allow the court decide whether the anti-graft agency’s request should be approved or rejected.
El-Rufai has remained in ICPC custody since February 18, 2026, over allegations linked to money laundering and the unlawful interception of communications belonging to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
The commission had earlier obtained a 14-day remand order from a Magistrate Court in Bwari, Abuja, on February 19, 2026.
It was gathered that the remand order, which permitted the commission to detain the former governor while investigations were ongoing, expired on March 5, 2026.
Following the expiration of the order, El-Rufai’s lawyers, family members, and supporters faulted his continued detention, insisting it was unlawful.
They argued that once the court order authorising his detention lapsed, the commission should have either released him or formally charged him before a competent court.
According to them, keeping the former governor in custody without a valid court order amounts to a violation of his constitutional rights.
In response, El-Rufai filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, challenging what he described as his prolonged and unlawful detention.
Joined as defendants in the suit are the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Department of State Services (DSS), the ICPC, and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The former governor is asking the court to declare his continued detention illegal and compel the authorities to release him immediately.
However, the ICPC has rejected claims that it breached El-Rufai’s fundamental rights.
The commission insisted that it obtained a valid 14-day remand order from the court and maintained that such orders can be renewed while investigations are still ongoing.
Consequently, the anti-corruption agency is seeking a fresh court order to extend the former governor’s detention as it concludes its probe.
The court is expected to decide on Tuesday whether to grant or dismiss the request for an extension.
