The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has dismissed a security officer, Daniel Stephen, for allegedly helping Aichatou Assabe el-Rufai, one of the wives of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai, gain unauthorised access to him while he was in custody.
TheCable reports that Stephen was attached to the commission’s internal security team and was identified through CCTV footage as having assisted Assabe in entering the ICPC premises outside the approved visitor access procedure.
The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday, July 5, 2026.
In a handwritten statement submitted to an investigation panel, Stephen admitted that he helped el-Rufai’s wife enter the facility through a back entrance.
According to the account, Stephen drove Assabe into the commission’s premises, took her through the back entrance and escorted her upstairs to the section where the former governor was being held.
An ICPC officer told TheCable that Stephen switched off the light at one point before they entered the room where el-Rufai was being detained.
During the approximately 15-minute visit, Assabe allegedly handed her husband a document, collected a black purse and discussed a court matter with him in Hausa.
Stephen said he later escorted her out through the same back entrance and drove her away from the premises.
In his statement, Stephen acknowledged that the visit did not comply with the commission’s security procedures.
He explained that visitors are required to have their details recorded at the gate and obtain clearance from the head of the security unit before entering the premises.
“I agree that I am wrong and breached commission procedure,” Stephen wrote, adding that he made the statement voluntarily and without coercion or duress.
ICPC sources also said Stephen’s account suggested that his assistance to el-Rufai’s wife was not limited to the July incident.
He reportedly described an earlier occasion when he helped escort her further into the facility while her identity was being confirmed.
Stephen also told investigators that, after assisting the woman, a man who identified himself as el-Rufai’s blood brother approached him. He said he subsequently helped the man enter the facility through the back entrance.
El-Rufai, who is facing trial over allegations of money laundering and conversion of public property, has been in ICPC custody since February 19, 2026, after his release by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The development comes after el-Rufai filed a N10 billion lawsuit against the ICPC in August, alleging that the commission denied his wife and son access to him while he was in custody.
