The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled December 2 for judgment in a N1 billion fundamental rights suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai. El-Rufai instituted the suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF). The suit relates to the search of his Abuja residence on February 19.
The court, presided over by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, fixed the date after lawyers representing the respondents adopted their court processes and urged the court to dismiss the suit. El-Rufai’s lawyer, Ubong Akpan, was absent from the courtroom when the case was called, but the judge deemed the former governor’s filed processes adopted. The ICPC, represented by Abdul Mohammed, identified and adopted its processes, urging the court to dismiss the suit.
The police representative, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ezekiel Rimamsomte, and Maimuna Lami-Shiru, director of civil litigation and public law at the Federal Ministry of Justice, who represented the AGF, also adopted their respective processes and asked the court to dismiss the suit. Akpan later arrived in court and apologized for his lateness, but the judge informed him that his client’s processes had already been deemed adopted.
El-Rufai initially instituted the suit against the ICPC, the chief magistrate of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Magistrate’s Court, the IGP, and the AGF. He subsequently removed the magistrate from the suit after the judge observed that he had failed to identify the judicial officer by name. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, was dated and filed on February 20.
In the suit, El-Rufai sought seven reliefs, including a declaration that the search of his residence violated his fundamental rights. He argued that the operation, allegedly conducted by the ICPC and the police, breached his rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the Constitution. He also asked the court to declare inadmissible any evidence obtained through what he described as an invalid search warrant and unlawful search.
The ICPC, in its counter-affidavit, said it received a petition against El-Rufai and commenced an investigation based on the allegations, which led to the search of his residence. The commission listed items it claimed were recovered from the residence and urged the court to dismiss the suit. The IGP, in a counter-affidavit deposed to by Inspector Ewa Anthony, argued that the police had the statutory authority to detect, arrest, investigate, and prosecute offenders.
The search of El-Rufai’s residence was conducted pursuant to a search warrant issued by a competent court, according to the IGP. Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the matter until December 2 for judgment. El-Rufai is seeking N1 billion in general, exemplary, and aggravated damages against the ICPC, the IGP, and the AGF.
Key points
- The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed December 2 for judgment in a N1 billion fundamental rights suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
- El-Rufai instituted the suit against the ICPC, the IGP, and the AGF over the search of his Abuja residence on February 19.
- The ICPC and other respondents have urged the court to dismiss the suit.
