By Ade Oyeyemi
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has urged 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.
Fagbemi, through counsel from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Maimuna Lami-Shiru, argued that the suit lacked merit and that the former governor had failed to establish a reasonable cause of action to justify the reliefs he was seeking.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, was filed against the ICPC and the Inspector-General of Police. The Chief Magistrate who issued the search warrant was initially joined as a respondent but was later removed from the proceedings at El-Rufai’s request.
El-Rufai instituted the action following the search of his residence on Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, by ICPC operatives on February 19, 2026.
The former governor is asking the court to invalidate the search warrant issued the previous day by a Chief Magistrate, arguing that the document was legally defective and did not provide sufficient details on the scope and manner of the search.
He alleged that the warrant contained drafting errors and was excessively broad, while also questioning the existence of sufficient grounds for its issuance.
El-Rufai contended that the search and seizure of items from his residence amounted to an infringement of his constitutional rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the 1999 Constitution.
At Monday’s proceedings, the AGF informed Justice Joyce Abdulmalik that his office had filed a counter-affidavit opposing the suit.
The Federal Government denied that El-Rufai’s fundamental rights were breached, maintaining that the ICPC and police acted lawfully in executing the search.
Fagbemi consequently asked the court to dismiss the former governor’s application.
The ICPC had earlier filed its own counter-affidavit, arguing that the search was part of an investigation arising from a petition against El-Rufai and was carried out pursuant to a warrant issued by a competent court. The commission also maintained that police officers accompanied its operatives during the exercise.
According to the anti-graft agency, the search was conducted in the presence of El-Rufai’s wife, Hadiza, and his son, Mohammed.
The police similarly defended the operation, maintaining that its personnel had statutory authority to detect, investigate and prosecute offences and that the search warrant was lawfully executed.
El-Rufai is seeking an order preventing the respondents from relying on or tendering materials recovered during the search in any investigation or prosecution involving him.
He is also asking the court to direct the ICPC and the police to return all items seized from his residence, together with a comprehensive inventory.
Among the materials identified by the ICPC are electronic storage devices, mobile phones, flash drives, a MicroSD card, a reMarkable tablet and an Apple MacBook Pro. The court subsequently granted the commission permission to examine and conduct forensic analysis of electronic devices recovered during the operation.
The former governor is further seeking N1bn in damages, comprising N300m in compensatory damages, N400m in exemplary damages and N300m in aggravated damages over what he described in his suit as the alleged oppressive and unlawful conduct of the respondents.
He is also claiming N100m as the cost of prosecuting 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.
The court will thereafter consider the competing arguments of the parties before determining the issues raised in the suit.
