El-Rufai’s Wife Accuses ICPC Of Blocking Family Access To Detained Husband

Wife of former Kaduna State governor, Aichatou El-Rufai, on Friday, accused the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC) of denying family members access to her detained husband in custody.

Speaking in a telephone conversation with LEADERSHIP, Aichatou alleged that officials of the anti-graft agency refused to allow the family to deliver food to the embattled former governor and also failed to provide reasons for the action.

“The ICPC has refused to give us access to give El-Rufai food. They said we cannot see him and I told them to give us in writing why they will not allow us to give him food this night and they didn’t give us any valid reason,” she said.

She further alleged that El-Rufai was denied access to his doctors despite what she described as an earlier court order permitting medical access to him while in detention.

“Also earlier today, he was even denied access to his doctors despite an earlier order by the court that he should be allowed to see his doctor. We spent better part of the afternoon and still he wasn’t allowed to see his doctors,” she added.

El-Rufai has remained in ICPC custody following his transfer from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in February 2026.

The former governor is on trial over allegations bordering on corruption, abuse of office and money laundering linked to his tenure as Kaduna State governor between 2015 and 2023.

The ICPC had earlier maintained that El-Rufai’s detention was backed by a valid remand order dated March 5, 2026, as part of investigations into alleged diversion of state resources.