The Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that it will not turn its courtroom into a “viewing centre,” restricting both parties to 20 minutes each to play selected clips of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage in an ongoing legal battle involving former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Justice Chigozie Onah delivered the ruling on Thursday regarding separate motions filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the former governor.
El-Rufai had instituted a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026 against the ICPC, its Chairman Musa Aliyu (SAN), and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), seeking N10 billion in damages. The former governor claims the anti-graft agency violated his fundamental human rights by unlawfully denying him access to his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba El-Rufai, while in custody.
Court Rejects Full Video and Cross-Examination Requests
Justice Onah declined El-Rufai’s application to have a six-hour video recording played in full during open court proceedings. Agreeing with ICPC counsel Yetunde Mosunmola, the judge noted that the footage contains sensitive security information that could compromise the commission’s facility if aired entirely in public.
The judge added that any full review of the complete footage would instead have to take place privately in the judge’s chambers.
Furthermore, the court turned down El-Rufai’s request to compel two ICPC officials who deposed to affidavits to appear in court for cross-examination, emphasizing that fundamental rights enforcement procedures rely primarily on affidavit evidence. Other ancillary reliefs sought by the former governor were also dismissed.
To accommodate the limited screening, Justice Onah ordered that both parties play their selected segments of the footage at 1:00 PM on November 3, scheduled just as most lawyers and litigants have left the courtroom, ahead of the definite hearing of the substantive applications.
Inside the Legal Battle: Security Breaches and Family Visits
The lawsuit stems from El-Rufai’s detention under an order issued by the Federal High Court in Kaduna (Charge No: FHC/KD/73C/2025).
In a joint counter-affidavit deposed to by John Uche, a Chief Anti-Corruption Assistant in the ICPC’s Internal Security Support Unit, the commission pushed back heavily against the former governor’s allegations.
According to the ICPC:
The Medical Visit Controversy: On July 7, the commission permitted El-Rufai’s personal physician to visit him, accompanied by his wife, Asabe. However, the agency alleged the visit was quickly “turned into a political meeting,” exposing security vulnerabilities.
The Incident at the Gate: The commission stated that when El-Rufai’s son, Abba, arrived to visit his father and was denied entry, he lay in a gutter and repeatedly rubbed his leg against its edge—an incident captured on the facility’s CCTV system.
Unauthorized Access: The ICPC further alleged that an internal review uncovered a separate security breach on Saturday, July 4, where Asabe was allegedly “smuggled” into the premises after official hours with the connivance of internal officers currently facing disciplinary action.
Due to these events, the commission argued that temporary access restrictions were necessary to safeguard its facility, leading to the suspension of non-essential visits pending a comprehensive security review.
The substantive suit has been adjourned until November 3 for further hearing.
