Court Adjourns El-Rufai’s N1 Billion Rights Suit Against ICPC

By Folarin Adeyemi Aluko

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday adjourned a 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 four others until March 25.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned the case to allow all parties involved to regularize their court processes before the matter proceeds to hearing.

The lawsuit, which seeks N1 billion in damages, lists the ICPC, the Chief Magistrate of the Magistrate Court of the Federal Capital Territory, the Nigeria Police Force through the Inspector-General of Police, and the Federal Ministry of Justice (Nigeria) represented by the Attorney-General of the Federation as the first to fourth respondents.

Legal Proceedings

When the case was called, Ubong Akpan, counsel to El-Rufai, informed the court that the matter had been scheduled for hearing but the legal team had only recently filed a response to the ICPC’s counter-affidavit and was yet to respond to that of the police.

Lawyers representing both the ICPC and the police confirmed the development.

Following the submissions, Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case to March 25 for hearing and ordered that hearing notices be served on the Chief Magistrate and the Attorney-General of the Federation, who were not represented in court.

Alleged Violation of Fundamental Rights

El-Rufai, through an originating motion dated February 20, is seeking seven reliefs from the court.

He asked the court to declare that the search and invasion of his Abuja residence on February 19 by officials of the ICPC and the police violated his constitutional rights.

According to the former governor, the operation at his residence located at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, breached his rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy as guaranteed under sections 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He further asked the court to rule that any evidence obtained from the search should be declared inadmissible in any future proceedings, arguing that the warrant used for the operation was invalid.

The former governor also requested an injunction preventing the respondents from using any materials seized during the search in investigations or prosecutions against him.

Additionally, he asked the court to order the immediate return of all items taken from his residence alongside a detailed inventory of the seized materials.

ICPC, Police Respond

In its counter-affidavit, the ICPC argued that the search was conducted after the commission received a petition against the former governor and commenced an investigation.

The commission said its operatives acted under a valid search warrant issued on February 18, which was executed the following day between 1:37 pm and 3:56 pm at El-Rufai’s residence in Asokoro.

According to the anti-corruption agency, the operation was carried out in the presence of El-Rufai’s wife, Hadiza El-Rufai, and his son, Mohammed El-Rufai.

The commission urged the court to dismiss the suit and also presented a list of items allegedly recovered during the search.

The police, in a separate counter-affidavit, maintained that the search was carried out in accordance with the law, stating that officers acted on a warrant issued by a competent court.

The force argued that its personnel followed all legal procedures in executing the warrant and insisted that the order authorising the search was valid.

According to the police, the former governor is attempting to use the court process to obstruct ongoing security investigations.

Both the ICPC and the police asked the court to dismiss the case in its entirety.

The matter is expected to resume on March 25 for hearing.