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A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s request to play more than six hours of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage in open court in his N10bn fundamental rights suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Justice Chigozie Onah, however, granted the ICPC’s application to play selected portions of the recordings, limiting both parties to 20 minutes each to present the footage in court.
The ruling followed separate applications by El-Rufai and the anti-corruption agency over CCTV recordings of incidents at the commission’s facility involving the former governor’s family while he was in detention.
El-Rufai is seeking N10 billion in damages, alleging that the ICPC unlawfully prevented him from accessing his wife, Aichatou Asabe, and son, Abba El-Rufai, during his detention.
Delivering his ruling, Justice Onah said the court could not be turned into a viewing centre, adding that it did not have sufficient time to watch recordings spanning more than six hours.
The judge also agreed with the ICPC’s argument that the footage contained sensitive security information that could expose its facility to security breaches if played in full in open court.
He said that if the complete recordings were to be viewed, the exercise would have to take place in his chambers.
The court consequently directed both parties to play relevant portions of the footage within their allotted 20 minutes each.
Justice Onah also rejected El-Rufai’s request to compel two ICPC officials who swore affidavits in the case to appear for cross-examination.
The judge held that fundamental rights enforcement proceedings are determined primarily through affidavit evidence and declined to grant the request. He also refused the other reliefs sought by the former governor.
The matter was adjourned until November 3 at 1pm for the definite hearing of the substantive applications.
The dispute centres on three CCTV clips submitted by the ICPC as evidence in response to El-Rufai’s allegations.
The commission identified the clips as “The Scuffle,” “The Son Being Taken Away” and “Unauthorised Entry,” arguing that the recordings would help the court establish what happened during the disputed incidents.
In an application filed on August 3, the ICPC and its chairman, Musa Aliyu, SAN, asked the court for permission to play the relevant portions of the footage using appropriate audiovisual equipment.
The commission maintained that the recordings captured events relevant to the case and would assist the court in determining the sequence of events, the persons involved and their conduct.
El-Rufai, however, challenged the commission’s decision to submit selected clips rather than the complete recordings.
In his application filed on September 9, the former governor asked the court to compel the ICPC to produce unedited CCTV footage covering June 7, July 4 and July 7, 2026.
He also sought the production of visitor registers, entry and exit records, and other documents relating to visits by his wife and other family members to the commission’s premises.
The former governor further asked the court to summon Sadiq Musa Baba, who certified the CCTV exhibit, and John Uche, the ICPC official who deposed to the commission’s counter-affidavit, for questioning over the selection, copying and certification of the recordings.
He argued that the three clips submitted by the commission did not establish that the recordings represented everything captured by its cameras.
According to El-Rufai, the commission controlled the CCTV cameras, storage systems and visitor records but had failed to produce the complete footage for the disputed periods.
He alleged that omitted portions of the July 7 recordings showed his son being dragged, with his leg trapped in a gutter, while another segment allegedly showed an officer falling into a ditch.
El-Rufai argued that the images contradicted the account contained in the commission’s counter-affidavit.
He also maintained that footage from June 7 would show that the ICPC invited his wife into its premises on the first night of his detention, while recordings from July 4 would help test the commission’s allegation that she was smuggled into the facility after visiting hours.
The former governor argued that the officials responsible for the recordings should be available for questioning to establish whether additional footage existed and why it had not been produced.
He also urged the court to invoke Section 167(d) of the Evidence Act, 2011, to presume that any evidence withheld by the commission would be unfavourable to it.
The ICPC opposed El-Rufai’s application, arguing that playing the complete recordings in open court could expose sensitive information about its facility and compromise security.
In its counter-affidavit, the commission maintained that the recordings were preserved accurately and had not been altered or tampered with.
The commission also defended its decision to restrict access to El-Rufai while reviewing security arrangements at its premises.
John Uche, a Chief Anti-Corruption Assistant in the commission’s Internal Security Support Unit, said El-Rufai was being held in lawful custody under an order of the Federal High Court in Kaduna in charge number FHC/KD/73C/2025.
Uche stated that on July 7, the commission facilitated a medical visit involving El-Rufai’s personal physician, his wife and ICPC officers in compliance with a court order permitting access to the physician.
He alleged that the visit was subsequently turned into a political meeting, in breach of the commission’s security protocols, prompting a review of access arrangements.
Uche also alleged that El-Rufai’s son, Abba, attempted to enter the commission’s premises but was prevented from gaining access. He claimed that the younger El-Rufai subsequently lay in a gutter and repeatedly rubbed his leg against its edge.
The official further alleged that El-Rufai’s wife was smuggled into the facility on July 4 at about 7:35pm, outside official visiting hours, with the alleged connivance of some commission officers who were subsequently subjected to disciplinary action.
He said the commission temporarily suspended her visiting access pending the completion of its security review and the implementation of measures to address the identified vulnerabilities.
The ICPC argued that the restrictions were necessary to address security concerns arising from the incidents.
El-Rufai’s suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1852/2026, was filed on August 13 by his lawyer, Ubong Akpan, against the ICPC, its chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The former governor is asking the court to declare that his fundamental rights under Part IV of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, remain enforceable despite his detention.
The substantive suit remains pending before the court, which is scheduled to hear the matter on November 3.
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