By Stephen Simon
The Federal High Court in Abuja has permitted the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to play selected portions of its CCTV footage in a N10 billion fundamental rights suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai.
Justice Chigozie Onah ruled that each side could play up to 20 minutes of the recordings in open court, declining el-Rufai’s request for the complete footage, which reportedly runs for more than six hours.
The ICPC had argued that the recordings contained sensitive security information that could expose its facilities to risks if played in full in public.
The judge said the complete footage could be viewed in his chambers if necessary.
Justice Onah also rejected el-Rufai’s application seeking the attendance of two ICPC officials for cross-examination, holding that the fundamental rights proceedings would be determined on affidavit evidence.
The court directed that the selected footage be played and adjourned the substantive applications until November 3.
The suit forms part of the former governor’s legal challenge concerning his treatment by the anti-corruption agency.
The ruling concerns how the evidence will be presented; it does not, by itself, determine the substantive allegations or the outcome of the case.
