Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai filed a basic rights enforcement lawsuit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and four other parties. The Federal High Court in Abuja postponed the hearing till March 25.
In order to give the parties to the lawsuit time to normalise their procedures, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik postponed the case. El-Rufai is seeking N1 billion in damages from ICPC, the Chief Magistrate of the FCT Magistrate’s Court in Abuja, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, who are listed as the first through fourth respondents, respectively.
El-Rufai’s attorney, Ubong Akpan, told the court that the case was scheduled for hearing when it was called. He did, however, note that they had just replied to the ICPC’s counter-affidavit and had not yet addressed the IGP’s. Akpan’s submission was verified by Ezekiel Rimamsomte, the police counsel, and Abdulsufiano Abubakar, the attorney for the ICPC.
As a result, Justice Abdulmalik postponed the hearing to March 25. The judge mandated that hearing notices be sent to the Chief Magistrate, the second respondent, and the AGF, the fourth respondent, who were not represented in court. The former governor requested seven reliefs in an original motion on notice marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, dated and filed by Oluwole Iyamu, SAN, on February 20.
He asked the court to rule that the ICPC and I-G’s invasion and search of his home at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on February 19 at around 2:00 PM constituted a flagrant infringement of the applicant’s fundamental rights. He claimed that it violated Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the Constitution, which protect human dignity, individual liberty, a fair trial, and privacy.
“Any evidence obtained pursuant to the aforesaid invalid warrant and unlawful search is inadmissible in any proceedings against the applicant, as it was procured in breach of constitutional safeguards,” he urged the court to rule. Therefore, El-Rufai requested an order of injunction prohibiting the respondents and their agents from utilising, submitting, or relying on any evidence or materials found during the illegal search in any investigation, prosecution, or proceedings pertaining to him. He requested an order for the first and third respondents (ICPC and I-G) to promptly return any goods taken from the applicant’s property during the illegal search, along with a thorough inventory of those items. In addition, he requested an order of general, exemplary, and aggravated damages totalling N1,000,000,000.00 (one billion naira).
In response, the ICPC stated in its counter-affidavit that it had received a petition against El-Rufai and that, in response, it had started an investigation that resulted in the search of his home. It claimed that its agents operated in accordance with a legitimate search order that was granted on February 18 and carried out at 12 Mambilla Street, Asokoro, Abuja, on February 19 between 1:37 and 3:56 p.m.
According to the commission, El-Rufai’s wife, Hadiza El-Rufai, and son, Mohammed El-Rufai, saw the exercise, and its officials were escorted by members of the Nigeria Police Force. The ICPC requested that the lawsuit be dismissed by the court.
