A fresh legal dispute has emerged between Mrs Aichatou El-Rufai, wife of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, following a N2bn pre-action notice issued against the anti-graft agency over alleged defamation.
Mrs El-Rufai, through her legal representatives, accused the commission of publishing statements that allegedly tarnished her reputation and portrayed her as dishonest in the eyes of the public.
The dispute stems from a press release issued by the ICPC on May 18, 2026, titled “Clarification on the Access Control Protocol at ICPC Headquarters, Abuja,” and signed by its spokesperson, Okor Odey.
In the pre-action notice, Mrs El-Rufai faulted portions of the statement, describing them as “false and damaging,” and alleged that they were deliberately crafted to discredit her while justifying the commission’s handling of visitation procedures at its Abuja office.
She specifically objected to the commission’s reference to her as “a woman who identified herself as the wife of a defendant,” arguing that the phrase was intended to cast doubt on her marital status and undermine her standing as the lawful spouse of the former governor.
The notice further criticised the ICPC’s claim that her earlier allegations were “false and misleading,” insisting that such assertions portrayed her as deceitful and exposed her to public ridicule.
Mrs El-Rufai also challenged allegations that she breached the agency’s access and visitation protocols, maintaining that she complied with all procedures and was wrongly depicted as non-compliant.
She equally took issue with claims by the commission suggesting that she contradicted herself over her earlier assertion that her husband was denied food while in custody, describing the allegation as an attempt to weaken her credibility.
According to her legal team, the statements issued by the ICPC were aimed at undermining her integrity and eroding public confidence in her person.
Consequently, she is demanding N2bn in damages and has asked the commission to retract the statements and issue a public apology.
The notice warned that failure to meet the demands could result in the commencement of legal proceedings against the anti-corruption agency.
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