ICPC Dismisses Security Officer Caught Helping El-Rufai’s Wife Bypass Custody Access Rules
Abuja — The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has dismissed a member of its internal security team after he was caught on CCTV footage helping Aichatou Asabe El-Rufai, one of the wives of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, gain unauthorised access to her husband while he was in the commission’s custody.
The dismissed officer, identified as Daniel Stephen, was reportedly caught on camera assisting Asabe in entering the ICPC premises in Abuja on Sunday, July 5, 2026, outside the commission’s approved visitor access procedure. According to a report by TheCable, Stephen admitted his involvement in a handwritten statement submitted to an internal investigation panel, acknowledging that he had helped El-Rufai’s wife gain access to her husband through the facility’s back entrance.
According to the account, Stephen drove Asabe into the commission’s premises, took her through the back entrance, and escorted her upstairs to the section where El-Rufai was being held. At one point, he reportedly turned off the light before they entered the room where the former governor was detained. During the roughly 15-minute visit, Mrs El-Rufai is said to have handed her husband a document, picked up a black purse, and spoken with him in Hausa about a court-related matter, before Stephen escorted her back out through the same entrance and drove her off the premises.
Stephen reportedly told the investigation panel that he was fully aware the visit did not comply with the commission’s established security procedures, which require visitors to have their details recorded at the gate and obtain clearance from the head of the security unit before being granted access to the facility. In his written statement, he acknowledged that he was wrong and had breached commission procedure, stating that the confession was made voluntarily and without coercion or duress.
ICPC insiders further indicated that Stephen’s account suggested his involvement with Asabe extended beyond the single July 5 incident. According to sources, the officer described an earlier encounter in which he had similarly helped escort her further into the facility while officials were still in the process of confirming her identity. He further stated that on a separate occasion, after assisting Asabe, he was approached by a man who identified himself as El-Rufai’s blood brother, and that he agreed to assist the man in gaining access to the facility through the same back entrance as well.
El-Rufai has been held in ICPC custody since February 19, 2026, following his earlier release by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The former governor is facing trial over allegations of money laundering and the conversion of public property, charges he has denied. The case has continued to generate controversy in recent months, with El-Rufai separately filing lawsuits against the ICPC alleging that his family had been denied proper access to him during his detention, including a fresh N10 billion suit against the commission.
The dismissal of the security officer adds a further layer to the ongoing legal and political controversy surrounding El-Rufai’s detention, raising fresh questions about the adequacy of the commission’s internal security protocols governing access to high-profile detainees in its custody.
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