The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi, Abuja, has dismissed a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Joel Adoga against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), ruling that the anti-graft agency did not violate his constitutional rights during its investigation.
Adoga, who is standing trial alongside former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, had accused the ICPC of unlawfully detaining him, denying him access to his family and lawyers, and compelling him to make statements during the investigation.
In the suit marked CV/1012/2026, Adoga sought declarations that his rights had been breached, an order of habeas corpus, damages, and injunctions restraining the ICPC from investigating, detaining or prosecuting him over the allegations.
However, the ICPC, in a joint counter-affidavit, denied all the allegations, insisting that Adoga was lawfully invited for questioning following a petition linking him to alleged corrupt practices and suspicious financial transactions involving the diversion of Kaduna State Government funds.
The commission maintained that Adoga was granted administrative bail during the investigation and was only detained pursuant to a valid remand order issued by a competent court.
It further argued that after concluding its investigation, it filed criminal charges against Adoga before the Federal High Court in Kaduna, where he was arraigned and granted bail.
According to the ICPC, any continued detention of the defendant resulted from his inability to meet the bail conditions imposed by the trial court, not from any unlawful action by the commission.
The anti-corruption agency also told the court that Adoga was never denied access to his family members or legal representatives, adding that all statements he made during the investigation were voluntary, recorded under caution and in the presence of his lawyer.
Delivering judgment, Justice M.S. Idris held that Adoga failed to establish that the ICPC violated his fundamental rights.
The judge dismissed the suit in its entirety, ruling that the commission acted within the confines of the law throughout its investigation.
Adoga is facing a 10-count charge alongside El-Rufai before the Federal High Court in Kaduna.
The ICPC alleges that between 2016 and 2023, El-Rufai received several sums of money in United States dollars through his Guaranty Trust Bank domiciliary account, including $320,800 allegedly paid in tranches by Adoga, alongside other deposits of $155,800, $305,300 and additional amounts from different individuals, which investigators suspect were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The commission also accused Adoga of conspiring with the former governor in July 2019 to conceal the origin of a $10,000 deposit into the account.
Following the judgment, the ICPC said the ruling reaffirmed its commitment to the rule of law, due process and the protection of constitutional rights while carrying out its mandate of investigating and prosecuting corruption-related offences.
