The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has dismissed a security officer for granting unauthorised access to Aichatou Assabe el-Rufai, one of Nasir el-Rufai’s wives, to see him in custody, TheCable can report.
Insiders told TheCable that Daniel Stephen, the security officer, was caught on CCTV footage assisting Assabe to enter the commission’s premises outside the approved visitor access procedure.
According to Stephen’s handwritten statement seen by TheCable, the incident occurred on Sunday, July 5, 2026.
The former governor of Kaduna is facing trial over alleged money laundering and conversion of public property.
El-Rufai has been in the custody of the ICPC since February 19, after he was released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In the statement submitted to an investigation panel, Stephen, who was attached to the commission’s internal security team, admitted that he assisted el-Rufai’s wife in gaining access to her husband “through the back door”.
According to ICPC insiders, Stephen drove el-Rufai’s wife into the commission’s premises, took her through the back entrance and escorted her upstairs to the section where her husband was being held.
“At one point, according to his handwritten account, he turned off the light before they went into the room where el-Rufai was,” an ICPC officer told TheCable.
“Mrs el-Rufai handed her husband a document, picked up a black purse and spoke with him in Hausa about a court matter. The visit lasted about 15 minutes.
“Stephen said he then took her out through the same back entrance and drove her out of the commission’s premises.”
In the statement, Stephen acknowledged that the visit did not follow the commission’s established security procedure.
He said visitors to the ICPC premises were required to have their details recorded at the gate and obtain clearance from the head of the security unit before being granted access.
Stephen also admitted that his actions breached the commission’s rules.
“I agree that I am wrong and breached commission procedure,” he wrote, saying he made the statement voluntarily and without coercion or duress.
Insiders said Stephen’s handwritten account indicates that his involvement with el-Rufai’s wife went beyond a single incident of granting her unauthorised access.
ICPC sources said the dismissed security officer described an earlier encounter in which he helped escort her further into the facility while her identity was being confirmed.
Stephen said that after helping the woman, he was approached by a man who claimed to be el-Rufai’s blood brother.
According to him, he also agreed to help the man and took him in through the back.
In August, el-Rufai filed a N10 billion suit against the ICPC for allegedly denying his wife and son access to him in custody.
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The former Kaduna governor sought several orders against the commission, including an apology for aggravated damages.
