The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has dismissed a security officer accused of 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.
Daniel Stephen, who was attached to the commission’s internal security team, was allegedly caught on CCTV assisting Assabe to enter the ICPC premises on July 5, 2026, outside the approved visitor access procedure.
Stephen reportedly admitted his involvement in a handwritten statement submitted to an investigation panel, according to The Cable.
In the statement, he acknowledged helping El-Rufai’s wife gain access to her husband “through the back door”.
Stephen is said to have driven Assabe into the commission’s premises, taken her through the back entrance and escorted her upstairs to the section where El-Rufai 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 was quoted as saying.
“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.”
Stephen reportedly told the panel that he was aware the visit had not complied with the commission’s established security procedures.
He explained that 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 allowed into the facility.
The officer also admitted that his actions amounted to a breach of the commission’s rules.
“I agree that I am wrong and breached commission procedure,” he wrote, adding that he made the statement voluntarily and without coercion or duress.
ICPC insiders were said to have further claimed that Stephen’s account suggested his involvement with Assabe extended beyond the July 5 incident.
Stephen allegedly recounted an earlier encounter in which he helped escort her further into the facility while officials were still confirming her identity and that after assisting her, he was approached by a man who identified himself as El-Rufai’s blood brother.
According to his account, he also agreed to assist the man and brought him into the facility through the back entrance.
El-Rufai has been in ICPC custody since February 19, following his release by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He is being held on charges of money laundering and conversion of public property, which he denies.
