Court Gives Fresh Order on El-Rufai; Tension Looms

A Chief Magistrate Court in Bwari, Abuja, has authorized the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to detain former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai for an additional 14 days.

This decision, made by Chief Magistrate Okechukwu John Akweke on Thursday, aims to facilitate the completion of the ICPC’s investigation into allegations of money laundering and abuse of office involving El-Rufai. The new remand order is set to expire on March 19.

According to court documents obtained by The Nation, the order was granted following an application by the ICPC and was issued with the presence of El-Rufai’s legal representative.

In the application, the prosecuting counsel, Dr. Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha, urged the court to authorise the continued detention of the former governor pending the completion of investigations.

Part of the court order read, “An order of this Honourable Court issuing a remand warrant against the Respondent (NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI) in favour of the Applicant i.e. Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to detain the Respondent… in its custody for another fourteen (14) days pending conclusion of investigation activities on allegations of Money Laundering/abuse of office.”

The order further stated, “It is hereby ordered that: Application granted as prayed.

“That the Applicant i.e. the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ICPC is hereby ordered to re-detain the Respondent (NASIR AHMAD EL-RUFAI) for additional 14 days to enable the commission conclude investigation activities.

“That the return date shall be 19th day of March 2026, for report of compliance.”

Despite the court’s ruling, el-Rufai’s counsel, Ukpong Esop Akpan, has returned to the same court to challenge the validity of the fresh remand order.

The lawyer had earlier sought to nullify the first remand order, but the application was dismissed by the Chief Magistrate Court.

Chief Magistrate Akweke has fixed March 17 to determine whether the new detention order should be set aside.

A source within the ICPC who spoke with The Nation dismissed claims that the commission was persecuting the former governor, insisting that all actions taken against him followed due legal process.

The source said, “With a Senior Advocate of Nigeria as the commission’s chairman, we cannot detain el-Rufai or any suspect without a valid court order.

“El-Rufai’s legal team has been part of all our legal processes. But the narration out there is that ICPC is oppressing him.

“The first remand order was challenged by his lawyer, the case was dismissed. The second remand order is an issue before the court which will rule on March 17. They feed the public with false information instead of being forthcoming on what transpired in court.”

The source added that the ICPC was only acting on a petition against the former governor.

“The ICPC Chairman has no vested interest and he is not being used. We have an outstanding petition against el-Rufai and equity demands that we hear from him,” the source stated.

El-Rufai Alleges Jurisdictional Overreach
However, el-Rufai has described the court order authorising his detention as a jurisdictional overreach.

Through his lawyer, he filed an application seeking to nullify the remand order, citing several provisions of the law, including Sections 293, 294, 295, 296, 298, 299 and 100 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, and Section 6(6)(b) of the 1999 Constitution.

The application is also supported by a 20-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Mohammed Salihu Shaba.

Part of the affidavit stated, “That the Remand Order dated 19th February, 2026, made by this Honourable Court… is fundamentally defective and ought to be set aside for nullity.”