ICPC Wins Fundamental Rights Suit Filed By El-Rufai’s Co-Defendant Joel Adoga
ICPC Wins Fundamental Rights Suit Filed By El-Rufai’s Co-Defendant Joel Adoga
He claimed the ICPC denied him access to his family and legal representatives and compelled him to make statements while in custody.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured a court victory in a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Mr. Joel Adoga, who is standing trial alongside former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, over alleged corruption-related offences.
Adoga had instituted the suit before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi, Abuja, marked Suit No. CV/1012/2026, alleging that the anti-graft agency violated his fundamental rights during its investigation.
He claimed the ICPC denied him access to his family and legal representatives and compelled him to make statements while in custody.
The applicant sought several reliefs, including declarations that his rights had been breached, an order of habeas corpus, monetary damages, and injunctions restraining the ICPC from further investigating, detaining or prosecuting him in connection with the matter.
However, in a statement issued by the ICPC’s Head of Media and Public Communications, J. Okor Odey, the Commission said it denied all the allegations in a joint counter-affidavit filed before the court.
According to the ICPC, Adoga was lawfully invited for questioning following a petition and reasonable suspicion of his involvement in alleged corrupt practices and suspicious financial transactions linked to the diversion of Kaduna State Government funds.
The Commission maintained that he was granted administrative bail during the investigation and that any subsequent detention was based on a valid remand order issued by a competent court.
It further stated that after concluding its investigation, Adoga was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Kaduna, where he was granted bail.
The ICPC argued that any continued detention resulted from Adoga’s inability to meet the bail conditions imposed by the trial court, rather than any unlawful action by the Commission.
The anti-corruption agency also told the court that Adoga was never denied access to his family or legal representatives, adding that all statements he made during the investigation were voluntary, taken under caution, and in the presence of his chosen legal counsel.
Adoga is facing a 10-count charge alongside El-Rufai before the Federal High Court in Kaduna.
According to the ICPC, the charges include allegations that between 2016 and 2023, El-Rufai allegedly took control of various sums in U.S. dollars through his domiciliary account with Guaranty Trust Bank, including $320,800 allegedly paid in instalments by Adoga, as well as other deposits of $155,800, $305,300, and several smaller sums from different individuals, which investigators suspect were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The Commission also alleged that Adoga conspired with El-Rufai in July 2019 to disguise the origin of $10,000 deposited into the account.
Delivering judgment in the fundamental rights suit, Justice M.S. Idris held that Adoga had failed to establish that the ICPC infringed on his constitutional rights.
The court found no merit in the allegations against the Commission, dismissed the suit in its entirety, and held that the ICPC acted within the bounds of the law.
Reacting to the judgment, the ICPC reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the rule of law, due process, and the constitutional rights of all persons while carrying out its mandate of investigating and prosecuting corruption-related offences.
