The family of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has declared his continued detention by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission as unlawful, saying the legal basis for holding him had expired and no fresh order had been obtained.
In a statement signed and posted via Facebook on Friday by his son, Mohammed El-Rufai, the family said the 14-day remand order obtained by the ICPC from a magistrate’s court on February 19 had lapsed without the commission charging the former governor before any court of competent jurisdiction.
“As of today, March 6, 2026, Nasir El-Rufai remains in ICPC custody under circumstances that have no basis in law. We state categorically that there is currently no valid legal instrument authorizing his detention,” the statement read.
The family’s declaration comes as El-Rufai marks his 18th day in the custody of federal agencies. He has been held since voluntarily reporting to the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on February 16, 2026, before being transferred to the ICPC on the night of February 18.
El-Rufai was initially detained by the EFCC and released late Wednesday before being immediately taken into ICPC custody, where he has remained since. Prior to his arrest, he had written to the ICPC through his lawyers, indicating his willingness to honour an invitation on Tuesday.
According to the family, the ICPC secured a remand order on February 19 that was “defective from the outset” and provided only a 14-day window for detention, a window that has now closed.
The ICPC had, in court filings before the FCT High Court, pledged to draw up charges against the former governor before March 5, 2026, when the detention order was set to lapse. The commission is investigating multiple corruption allegations against him, including the whereabouts of €1.4 million, suspicious payments totalling over N2.1 billion, and transfers to undisclosed accounts amounting to more than N428 million.
The family, however, insisted the commission failed to honour that undertaking and has not secured any fresh detention order.
“The ICPC has not charged him with any offence in a competent court. Neither have they secured a fresh or extended lawful order to continue detaining him,” the statement said, describing the continued detention as “unlawful, brazen self-help.”
The family further alleged that the commission was being deployed for political ends, saying, “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.”
El-Rufai’s legal team had, in a pre-action notice dated March 4, accused the ICPC of contempt of court, malicious prosecution, defamation, abuse of office, forgery, and unlawful detention.
The legal team also separately served notice of a N15.6 billion damages claim on the ICPC, its chairman, and other officials, describing a press statement issued by the commission on March 2 as defamatory and misleading.
The ICPC had, in court filings, disclosed that items recovered from El-Rufai’s Abuja residence during a search on February 19 included investor account statements, asset declaration forms, land documents, several electronic devices, and records of domestic and foreign loans approved by the Kaduna State House of Assembly between 2015 and 2023. The commission maintained that its actions were lawful and in line with its statutory mandate.
PUNCHONLINE reported that a separate arraignment planned by the Department of State Services at the Federal High Court did not proceed on February 25 after the agency failed to produce El-Rufai in court. Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the case until April 23, 2026.
