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The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a N1bn fundamental rights suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over a search of his Abuja residence by operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Fagbemi, through counsel from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Maimuna Lami-Shiru, urged Justice Joyce Abdulmalik to dismiss the suit, arguing that El-Rufai failed to establish a reasonable cause of action to justify the reliefs he is seeking.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, has the ICPC and Inspector-General of Police as respondents. El-Rufai filed the case to challenge the legality of a search warrant used by ICPC operatives to search his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on February 19.
The former governor is asking the court to declare the warrant, dated February 18 and issued by a Chief Magistrate, invalid and unlawful.
He alleged that the warrant was defective because it lacked particularity and contained material drafting errors, ambiguity in its execution parameters, overbreadth and an alleged absence of probable cause.
El-Rufai contended that the search and seizure amounted to an unlawful intrusion into his privacy and violated his fundamental rights under Sections 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the Constitution.
He is also seeking an order restraining the respondents from using or tendering items seized from his residence in any investigation or prosecution involving him, as well as an order directing the return of the seized items with a detailed inventory.
The ICPC, however, maintained that the search was conducted as part of an investigation into a petition against the former governor and pursuant to a valid warrant issued by a competent court.
The police also defended the operation, saying its officers acted lawfully while executing the warrant and had statutory powers to detect, investigate and prosecute offences.
At Monday’s proceedings, the AGF informed the court that he had filed a counter-affidavit challenging the competence of the suit and denying that El-Rufai’s rights were violated.
The ICPC had earlier filed its own counter-affidavit seeking dismissal of the case.
Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the matter until October 27 to allow El-Rufai’s counsel, Akinyemi Aremu, to respond to the AGF’s counter-affidavit.
El-Rufai is seeking N1bn in damages, including compensation for alleged psychological trauma and emotional distress, exemplary and aggravated damages, as well as legal costs.
The items listed by the ICPC as recovered during the search include electronic storage devices, mobile phones, flash drives, a MicroSD memory card, a reMarkable tablet and an Apple MacBook Pro.
The ICPC also obtained court permission on March 12 to examine and analyse about 14 sets of electronic devices allegedly recovered during the operation.
