Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has instituted a ₦1 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and three other parties over what he described as an unlawful invasion of his residence in Abuja.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, El-Rufai is challenging the legality of a search warrant issued on February 4, 2026, by the Chief Magistrate of the Magistrate’s Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The warrant authorised ICPC operatives, alongside officers of the Nigeria Police Force, to search his residence located at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja.
Through his legal team led by Oluwole Iyamu, SAN, the former governor argued that the warrant was fundamentally defective. He urged the court to declare it null and void, citing lack of particularity, material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, overbreadth, and the absence of probable cause. According to him, the warrant violated his constitutional right to privacy as guaranteed under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
El-Rufai further contended that the execution of the warrant on February 19, at about 2:00 p.m., amounted to a gross violation of his fundamental rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the Constitution.
The respondents in the suit include the ICPC (1st respondent), the Chief Magistrate of the FCT Magistrate’s Court (2nd respondent), the Inspector-General of Police (3rd respondent), and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as the 4th respondent.
Among the seven reliefs sought, El-Rufai asked the court to declare any evidence obtained during the search inadmissible, order the return of all seized items with a detailed inventory, and restrain the respondents from relying on such materials in any investigation or prosecution.
He also demanded ₦1 billion in general, exemplary, and aggravated damages, citing unlawful search, trespass, psychological trauma, humiliation, infringement of privacy, and reputational harm.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the suit was filed on February 20, 2026.
