Nigeria, March 6 -- The family of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has called for his immediate release from the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), arguing that his continued detention lacks legal backing.

A statement issued on behalf of the family on Friday by Mr El-Rufai's son, Bello El-Rufai, who is a serving member of the House of Representatives, said the anti-corruption agency was holding the former governor without a valid court order, describing the situation as unlawful.

According to the statement dated 6 March (Friday) posted on his official Facebook page (https://web.facebook.com/bello.elrufai) the ICPC initially took Mr El-Rufai into custody on 18 February....