The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday granted an application by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to play part of the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage in its facility in former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s N10 billion suit.
Justice Chigozie Onah, in a ruling on separate motions filed by ICPC and El-Rufai, declined the former governor’s prayers to have the over six-hour video recording played in full in open court.
Justice Onah, who granted the duo 20 minutes each to have any part of the footage played in open court, said the court cannot be turned into a viewing centre.
The judge said the court does not have the luxury of time to watch a full footage that spans over six hours.
He also agreed with the arguments of the ICPC’s counsel, Yetunde Mosunmola, that the video contained some sensitive information that might expose the commission’s facility to a security breach if the full clip is played in open court.
Justice Onah further agreed that if such video must be played in full, it has to be in the judge’s chamber.
Justice Onah refused El-Rufai’s prayer seeking an order for the two ICPC officials, who deposed to the affidavits in the commission’s processes, to be produced in court for cross-examination.
The judge said the relief cannot be granted on the ground that fundamental right cases are determined by affidavit evidence.
He also refused to grant other reliefs sought by El-Rufai in his application.
Justice Onah thereafter adjourned the matter until November 3, 2026, for definite hearing of the substantive applications.
El-Rufai had instituted the suit against the ICPC, its chairman, Musa Aliyu (SAN), and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), as first to third respondents, respectively.
El-Rufai, in the originating motion, filed by Ubong Akpan on August 13, sought a N10 billion in damages for allegedly preventing him from having access to his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and son, Abba El-Rufai, while in custody.
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The former governor, who alleged that his wife and son were denied access to him, sought nine reliefs.
He prayed the court to declare that his fundamental human rights guaranteed under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution (as amended} remain inviolable and in force notwithstanding his detention by the commission and should be honoured.
Responding in a joint counter affidavit filed by the ICPC and its chairman but deposed to by John Uche, a Chief Anti-Corruption Assistant in the Internal Security Support Unit, they said many paragraphs in El-Rufai’s affidavit in support of his suit were false.
Uche added that El-Rufai was in the lawful custody of the commission by order of the Federal High Court in Kaduna.
Uche said on July 7, in compliance with the order of the court permitting access to El-Rufai’s doctor, the ICPC facilitated a medical visit to his personal physician accompanied by their officers and his wife.
He said shortly after the hospital visit, the ICPC received reports that the said medical visit was turned into a political meeting in breach of its security protocol demonstrating that the existing access control environment was vulnerable.
Uche said against this development, the commission adopted a temporary-access control measure temporarily restricting non-essential access to El-Rufai because unrestricted access presented a continuing risk until the vulnerability was understood and adequately mitigated.
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