El-Rufai sues ICPC over alleged unlawful invasion of Abuja home, seeks N1bn damages
Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, has filed a suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over what he described as an unlawful invasion and search of his Abuja residence.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026 and filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, El-Rufai, through his legal team led by Oluwole Iyamu, is seeking the nullification of a search warrant issued on February 4 by a magistrate court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The warrant authorised operatives to conduct a search and seize items from his home.
El-Rufai has been in ICPC custody since Wednesday, February 18, in connection with ongoing investigations. On Thursday, his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, alleged that operatives of the anti-corruption agency carried out an “unlawful” search at the former governor’s residence.
In the fundamental rights enforcement suit, El-Rufai joined the chief magistrate who issued the warrant, the inspector-general of police, and the attorney-general of the federation as respondents.
He is asking the court to declare that the search and seizure conducted by operatives of the ICPC and the Nigeria Police Force violated his fundamental rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy as guaranteed under Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The former governor also urged the court to rule that any evidence obtained during the search is inadmissible in any proceedings against him on the grounds that it was secured in breach of constitutional safeguards.
Additionally, he is seeking an order restraining the respondents from relying on or tendering any materials seized during the operation in the course of any investigation or prosecution. He further requested a directive compelling the ICPC and the inspector-general of police to return all items taken from his residence, alongside a comprehensive inventory.
El-Rufai is demanding N1 billion in general, exemplary, and aggravated damages for what he described as trespass, unlawful seizure, psychological trauma, and reputational harm arising from the search.
According to the breakdown in the suit, N300 million is claimed as compensatory damages for psychological trauma and emotional distress; N400 million as exemplary damages to deter alleged misconduct by law enforcement agencies; and N300 million as aggravated damages for what he termed “malicious, high-handed and oppressive” actions. He is also seeking N100 million as the cost of filing the suit, including legal fees.
In his argument, Iyamu contended that the search warrant was fundamentally defective, alleging that it lacked specificity in describing the items to be seized, contained material typographical errors, and was overly broad in its directives.
“The search warrant was null and void for lack of particularity, material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, over-breadth, and absence of probable cause, thereby constituting an unlawful and unreasonable search,” the lawyer argued.
He cited Sections 143 to 148 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, stating that applications for search warrants must be supported by written information on oath outlining reasonable grounds for suspicion.
According to Iyamu, the warrant vaguely referred to “the thing aforesaid” without clear description, was not in the prescribed form, and contained errors relating to the address, date, and district designation. He further argued that the warrant was indiscriminately addressed to “all officers,” describing it as overbroad and lacking accountability.
An affidavit deposed to by Mohammed Shaba, identified as a principal secretary to the former governor, stated that operatives of the ICPC and the police stormed the residence at about 2 pm on February 19.
Shaba claimed the warrant did not specify the items being sought and alleged that the officers failed to submit themselves for search before carrying out the operation.
He said personal items, including documents and electronic devices, were seized and have not been returned.
He added that the respondents continue to rely on what he described as unlawfully obtained evidence and maintained that the application was filed in good faith to enforce El-Rufai’s constitutional rights.
