The fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and others was stalled on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja due to the absence of counsel for the respondents.
El-Rufai is seeking N1bn in damages over what he described as an unlawful search of his Abuja residence. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, is before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik. When the matter was called, only Ubong Akpan appeared in court for the applicant, with no representation for the respondents.
Akpan informed the court that although the case was slated for mention, the respondents had not yet been served with the court processes. He requested an adjournment to allow proper service. Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter until March 11 for further mention.
El-Rufai named the ICPC, the Chief Magistrate of the FCT Magistrate’s Court, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Attorney-General of the Federation as the 1st to 4th respondents, respectively. In the originating motion filed on February 20 by his lead counsel, Oluwole Iyamu, El-Rufai asked the court to declare the search warrant issued on February 4 as invalid, null, and void.
He contends that the warrant lacked particularity, contained drafting errors, was ambiguous, overbroad, and unsupported by probable cause, thereby constituting an unlawful search contrary to Section 37 of the Constitution. He further argued that the invasion of his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on February 19 by ICPC and police operatives violated his rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the 1999 Constitution.
El-Rufai is also seeking an order restraining the respondents from using any evidence or items seized during the search and directing the return of all seized items with a detailed inventory. He is claiming N1bn in damages, including N300m for psychological trauma and emotional distress, N400m as exemplary damages, N300m as aggravated damages for alleged high-handed conduct, and N100m for legal costs.
Counsel Iyamu argued that the warrant was defective for lacking specificity, containing typographical errors, and issuing overbroad directives without verifiable probable cause. He cited provisions under Sections 143–148 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, Section 36 of the ICPC Act, 2000, and constitutional safeguards protecting citizens from arbitrary intrusion.
The case is expected to resume on March 11.
