Anti-graft agency, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has confirmed that the former Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state, is currently in its custody.
A statement issued by the Commission’s Head of Media and Public Communications, J. Okor Odey, explained that the former governor was detained as of the close of work yesterday (Wednesday, February 18, 2026).
The statement read, in part: “The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) writes to state that Malam Nasiru El-Rufai the former Governor of Kaduna state is in our custody as at close of work, Wednesday the 18th day of February, 2026. Malam Nasiru El-Rufai is in the custody of the Commission in connection with investigations.”
El-Rufai’s detention is in connection with ongoing investigations, ICPC added, although the specific details of the allegations against him were not immediately made public.
The ICPC detention marks another chapter in the legal troubles facing the former governor.
It comes on the heels of a previous high-profile arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) concerning allegations of multi-billion naira financial misappropriation during his eight-year tenure (2015-23) as governor.
A Kaduna State House of Assembly Ad-hoc Committee had earlier indicted the El-Rufai administration for allegedly siphoning about ₦432 billion through questionable contracts and money laundering.
While El-Rufai has consistently denied these allegations, describing them as politically motivated “witch-hunts,” both the EFCC, and now the ICPC, have intensified their probes into his administration’s financial dealings.
It is possible that ICPC may have uncovered fresh evidence or is pursuing a parallel investigation into different sets of petitions against the former governor.
