The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a N1bn fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai. El-Rufai instituted the action to challenge the legality of the search warrant used by the ICPC to search his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on February 19. Fagbemi argued that El-Rufai failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action to warrant the reliefs sought.
El-Rufai's suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, has the ICPC and Inspector-General of Police as respondents. He is asking the court to declare the warrant, dated February 18 and issued by a Chief Magistrate, invalid, null and void. The former governor contended that the warrant was legally defective due to alleged lack of particularity and material drafting errors. El-Rufai also asked the court to declare that the search and seizure of items from his residence violated his fundamental rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy.
Fagbemi, through a lawyer from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Maimuna Lami-Shiru, notified the court that he had filed a counter-affidavit challenging the competence of the suit. The AGF denied the allegation that El-Rufai's rights were violated and maintained that the ICPC and police acted within the bounds of the law. He consequently urged the court to dismiss the suit. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned the matter until October 27 to enable El-Rufai's lawyer to respond to the AGF's counter-affidavit.
The ICPC had earlier filed its own counter-affidavit seeking the dismissal of the suit. The commission said the search was conducted as part of an investigation into a petition against El-Rufai and that its operatives acted pursuant to a valid search warrant issued by a competent court. According to the ICPC, its officials were accompanied by police officers during the search and conducted the exercise in the presence of El-Rufai's wife and son.
The police also defended the search, saying its officers had statutory powers to detect, arrest, investigate, and prosecute offenders. In a counter-affidavit deposed to by an Inspector, Ewa Anthony, the police maintained that its officers lawfully executed a search warrant issued by a competent court. El-Rufai is seeking, among other reliefs, an order declaring that any evidence obtained through the alleged unlawful search and defective warrant is inadmissible in proceedings against him.
El-Rufai is also asking the court to restrain the respondents and their agents from using, relying on, or tendering any of the items seized during the search in any investigation or prosecution involving him. The former governor further wants the ICPC and the Inspector-General of Police to return all items seized from his residence, together with a detailed inventory. The items listed by the ICPC include electronic storage devices, mobile phones, and a MacBook Pro.
El-Rufai is seeking N1bn in general, exemplary, and aggravated damages over the alleged violation of his fundamental rights. The former governor is facing other legal proceedings, including charges relating to the alleged interception of telephone communications involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. The court will continue to hear the case on October 27.
Key points
- The AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, has asked the court to dismiss El-Rufai's N1bn suit.
- El-Rufai instituted the action to challenge the legality of the ICPC search of his Abuja residence.
- The court will continue to hear the case on October 27.
