Former Kaduna state governor, Nasir el-Rufa’i has filed a ₦1 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Enforcement Commission, (ICPC), over alleged unlawful invasion of his Abuja residence.
El-Rufa’i, through his team of lawyers led by Oluwole Iyamu, (SAN), prayed the court to declare that the search warrant issued on Feb. 4 by the Chief Magistrate, Magistrate’s Court of the FCT (2nd respondent), authorising the search and seizure at his residence was invalid, null and void.
He urged the court to declare that the search warrant was “null and void for lack of particularity, material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, overbreadth, and absence of probable cause thereby constituting an unlawful and unreasonable search in violation of Section 37 of the Constitution”.
The former governor had, in the originating Motion on notice, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, sued ICPC as 1st respondent. El-Rufa’i named the Chief Magistrate, Magistrate’s Court of the FCT, Abuja Magisterial District; Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as 2nd to 4th respondents respectively.
In the suit, dated and filed Feb. 20 by Iyamu, the detained ex-governor sought seven reliefs. He prayed the court to declare that the invasion and search of his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on Feb. 19 at about 2pm and executed by agents of ICPC and IGP, “under the aforesaid invalid warrant, amounts to a gross violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the Constitution”.
He urged the court to declare that “any evidence obtained pursuant to the aforesaid invalid warrant and unlawful search is inadmissible in any proceedings against the applicant, as it was procured in breach of constitutional safeguards”.
El-Rufa’i, therefore, sought an order of injunction restraining the respondents and their agents from further relying on, using, or tendering any evidence or items seized during the unlawful search in any investigation, prosecution, or proceedings involving him.
The former governor did the breakdown of the ₦1billion in damages to include: “a ₦300 million as compensatory damages for psychological trauma, emotional distress, and loss of personal security, and a ₦400 million as exemplary damages to deter future misconduct by law enforcement agencies and vindicate the applicant’s rights.
He equally sought a ₦300 million as aggravated damages for the malicious, high-handed and oppressive nature of the respondents’ actions, including the use of a patently defective warrant procured through misleading representations”, as well as a ₦100 million as cost of filing the suit, including legal fees and associated expenses.
In his grounds of argument, the senior lawyer argued that the search warrant was fundamentally defective, lacking specificity in the description of items to be seized, containing material typographical errors, ambiguous execution terms, overbroad directives, and no verifiable probable cause.
According to him, this was in contravention of Sections 143-148 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015; Section 36 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) Act, 2000, and constitutional protections against arbitrary intrusions.
Iyamu stated that the execution of the invalid warrant on Feb. 19 resulted in an unlawful invasion of his client’s premises, constituting violations of the rights to dignity (Section 34), personal liberty (Section 35), fair hearing (Section 36), and privacy (Section 37) of the Constitution.
He further argued that the search was conducted without legal justification and in a manner that inflicted humiliation and distress. He equally gave a plethora of cases to back his argument.
