A Federal High Court in Abuja ruled on how CCTV footage from an ICPC facility would be played in the ex-governor’s caseJustice Chigozie Onah rejected El-Rufai’s bid to have the full six-hour recording shown in open courtThe ICPC told the court that a hospital visit by El-Rufai was turned into a political meeting, prompting tighter access controlsPAY ATTENTION: Find it fast with our new search feature at Legit.ng! A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ruled that CCTV footage from an Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) facility will be shown for only 20 minutes per side in open court, rejecting former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s request for the full recording to be played.Justice Chigozie Onah delivered the ruling on Thursday while considering separate motions filed by the ICPC and El-Rufai. The judge gave both parties 20 minutes each to show whichever portion of the footage they chose, starting at 1pm, and said the court “cannot be turned into a viewing centre.” He noted that the court lacked the time to sit through a recording that runs for over six hours.Court grants ICPC prayer to play part of CCTV footage at its facility in former Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State’s claims Photo Credit: @elrufai Source: TwitterVanguard reported that Justice Onah also sided with ICPC counsel Yetunde Mosunmola’s argument that portions of the footage contained sensitive information that could expose the commission’s facility to a security breach if screened in open court.
He ruled that any full viewing of the video would have to take place in the judge’s chambers.El-Rufai’s other prayers refusedThe court also turned down El-Rufai’s separate request for two ICPC officials, who had deposed to affidavits in the commission’s processes, to appear in court for cross-examination. Justice Onah held that fundamental rights enforcement cases are classified as *sui generis* and are decided on affidavit evidence, making the relief legally unsustainable. All other reliefs sought by the former governor in his application were similarly refused.PAY ATTENTION: From breaking news to viral moments. Follow Legit.ng on Instagram!The case stems from an originating motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026, which El-Rufai filed on August 13 through his lawyer, Ubong Akpan.
In it, he claimed that the ICPC prevented his wife, Mrs Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba El-Rufai, from accessing him while he was in custody. He is seeking N10 billion in damages and nine other reliefs, including a declaration that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution cannot be suspended during his detention.The ICPC, its chairman Musa Aliyu, SAN, and the Attorney-General of the Federation are named as the first to third respondents, respectively.ICPC’s account of eventsIn a counter-affidavit deposed to by John Uche, a Chief Anti-Corruption Assistant in the Internal Security Support Unit, the commission said many of El-Rufai’s claims were false. Uche said the former governor was being held under a lawful court order issued by the Federal High Court in Kaduna, in charge number FHC/KD/73C/2025.He said on July 7, the ICPC arranged a medical visit for El-Rufai, accompanied by its officers and his wife, in line with a court order. Shortly after, the commission received reports that the visit had been turned into a political meeting, which it described as a breach of security protocol.
In response, the ICPC adopted a temporary measure restricting non-essential access to El-Rufai until the security vulnerability could be properly assessed and addressed.Justice Onah adjourned the matter to November 3 at 1 pm for a definite hearing of the substantive applications.ICPC defends self in suit filed by Nasir El-Rufai Photo Credit: @elrufai Source: FacebookHigh Court dismisses El-Rufai’s suit against ICPCLegit.ng earlier reported that a Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed Nasir el-Rufai’s lawsuit against the ICPC and three other agencies over threats to his bank accounts and properties.The court held that the former Kaduna governor filed similar suits before two different courts within 12 days, constituting an abuse of court process.El-Rufai had sought N1 billion in damages and a perpetual injunction to protect assets he said were purchased with lawful severance pay as governor. Source: Legit.ng Bada Yusuf (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Yusuf Amoo Bada is an accomplished writer with over 5 years of experience in journalism and writing, he is also politics and current affairs editor with Legit.ng. He holds B.A in Literature from OAU, and Diploma in Mass Comm. He has obtained certificates in Google’s Advance Digital Reporting, News Lab workshop.
He previously worked as an Editor with OperaNews. Best Editor of the Year for Politics and Current Affairs Desk (2023) by Legit.ng. Contact: bada.yusuf.amoo@corp.legit.ng Kaduna StateFederal High Court Of NigeriaArewaNasir Ahmad El-RufaiICPC Japan Australia Funny numbers Gabbie carter Ugly cartoon characters
