𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗹-𝗥𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗶 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 — 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗺, 𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗜𝗖𝗣𝗖

Ubong Akpan, legal counsel to former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has called on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to either formally charge his client in court or release him immediately.

In a statement issued on Monday, Akpan argued that the continued detention of the former governor had become unlawful following the expiration of a 14-day remand order granted by a magistrate court.

According to the lawyer, the remand order, which was issued on February 19, expired on March 4, and there has been no fresh court order authorising the continued detention of his client.

Akpan maintained that keeping el-Rufai in custody beyond the court-approved period violates his constitutional rights and due process.

“El-Rufai cannot be kept indefinitely without being formally charged. The law is clear: once a remand order expires, the suspect must either be arraigned before a competent court or released,” he said.

The former governor has been in ICPC custody since February 19 after he was earlier released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which had been investigating separate allegations.

Akpan urged the anti-corruption agency to respect the rule of law and ensure that legal procedures are strictly followed.

He added that if the commission has sufficient evidence against his client, it should present the charges in court without delay, rather than continue holding him in detention.

As of the time of filing this report, the ICPC has yet to officially respond to the lawyer’s claims regarding the legality of the continued detention.