A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the request by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for permission to play part of the footage of the closed-circuit television (CCTV) recording of an incident in its facility where former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai is being held.
The ICPC said it would play the video recording during the hearing in a N10 billion rights enforcement suit the ex-governor filed against the anti-graft agency.
El-Rufai listed the ICPC its Chairman and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as respondents in the suit in which he is claiming among others that the respondents violated his rights by allegedly preventing him from having access to his wife Aichatou Asabe and son Abba El-Rufai while in custody.
In a ruling yesterday Justice Chigozie Onah agreed with the ICPC that it was reasonable to play part of the over six-hour recording in the court as against El-Rufai’s request that the entire recording be played.
Justice Onah granted the parties 20 minutes each to have any part of the recording played in open court stating that the court could not be turned into a viewing centre.
The judge said the court lacked the luxury of time to see the entire recording.
Justice Onah upheld the submission by ICPC’s lawyer Yetunde Mosunmola that the video recording contains some sensitive information that could expose her client’s facility to a security breach if the full recording was played in open court.
The judge added that if such a video must be played in full it has to be in his office.
Justice Onah refused El-Rufai’s request for an order for two ICPC officials who deposed to an affidavit to be produced in court for cross-examination.
He said: ‘Both parties only have 20 minutes each to play part of the footage at 1 p.m. in open court’ when most lawyers and litigants would have left the court.
Justice Onah adjourned till 1 p.m. on November 3 for the definite hearing of the main suit.