ICPC fires officer who smuggled El-Rufai’s wife into custody

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has dismissed a security officer, Daniel Stephen, after CCTV footage caught him helping Aichatou Assabe El-Rufai — one of former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s wives — gain unauthorised access to her husband while he was in custody, Vanguard reports.

Stephen allegedly drove Assabe into the ICPC premises on July 5, 2026, escorted her through a back entrance, turned off lights before entering the room where El-Rufai was held, and stood by as she handed her husband a document and conversed with him in Hausa for approximately 15 minutes about a court matter.

In a handwritten statement submitted to an investigation panel, Stephen admitted his actions breached established ICPC security procedures, which require visitor details to be recorded at the gate and clearance obtained from the security unit head.

“I agree that I am wrong and breached commission procedure,” Stephen wrote, adding that his statement was made voluntarily.

ICPC insiders claimed Stephen’s involvement with Assabe extended beyond the July 5 incident, with an earlier unauthorised encounter also alleged.