ICPC under pressure as El-Rufai remand warrant expires today

Fresh tension surrounds the continued detention of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as the 14-day remand warrant obtained by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to hold him in custody expires on Thursday.

El-Rufai has now spent 17 days in detention since he voluntarily honoured an invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on February 16.

The former governor was later transferred to the custody of the ICPC on the night of February 18, where he has remained since.

In a statement released on Wednesday, El-Rufai’s media adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye, disclosed that the anti-corruption agency obtained a 14-day remand order on February 19 to keep him in custody pending investigation.

According to the statement, the remand order is expected to expire on March 5, with the ICPC earlier indicating that it intended to charge the former governor before or on that date.

However, as of Thursday morning, it was unclear whether the commission had filed formal charges against El-Rufai.

Under Nigerian law, once a remand warrant expires, investigators are expected to either charge the suspect in court, obtain a fresh remand order, or release the detainee.

Meanwhile, El-Rufai’s lawyers are already challenging the legality of both the remand warrant and the search warrant used by the ICPC to search his residence on February 19.

The case came up on March 3 before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court of Nigeria and was adjourned to March 11 to allow all parties to be properly served.

The former governor is asking the court to declare the search warrant invalid, citing lack of particularity, drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, overbreadth and lack of probable cause.

He is also seeking a declaration that the search violated his fundamental human rights and an order preventing authorities from using items recovered from his residence in any proceedings against him.

The El-Rufai family had earlier dismissed claims by the ICPC that wiretapping equipment was recovered during the search of his residence, describing the allegation as false and defamatory.

His legal team has threatened legal action against the commission over the claim.

In a separate development, El-Rufai has also filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Federal Government and three security agencies — the ICPC, the EFCC and the Department of State Services (DSS).

The case was earlier before Justice Hussaini Belgore of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory but the judge later transmitted the case file to the FCT Chief Judge for reassignment after proceeding on leave.

Meanwhile, the DSS had earlier failed to produce El-Rufai in court for his scheduled arraignment at the Federal High Court on February 25.

Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter to April 23, 2026, while the court is yet to hear El-Rufai’s motions seeking to quash the charges and grant him bail.

With the ICPC remand warrant expiring today, attention is now focused on whether the anti-corruption agency will formally charge the former governor or seek a fresh court order to keep him in custody.