Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai has filed a N1 billion lawsuit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and others over the alleged unlawful search of his Abuja residence.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeks a declaration that the search warrant used to enter his home at No. 12 Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, on February 19 was invalid.
El-Rufai described the warrant as “null and void for lack of particularity, material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, overbreadth, and absence of probable cause.”
El-Rufai claimed that ICPC and Nigeria Police officers violated his constitutional rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy during the operation. He is requesting the court to bar any evidence obtained from the search from being used against him in any investigation or trial.
The former governor also seeks an order compelling the ICPC and the Inspector-General of Police to return all items seized from his home, accompanied by a detailed inventory.
He is claiming N1 billion in damages, including:
- N300 million for psychological trauma, emotional distress, and loss of personal security
- N400 million as exemplary damages to deter future misconduct by law enforcement
- N300 million as aggravated damages for the “malicious, high-handed and oppressive nature of the operation”
- N100 million for legal costs
El-Rufai’s lawyer argued that the warrant contained errors in address, date, and district details, failed to specify what items were to be seized, and therefore violated legal requirements, rendering the search unlawful and any evidence collected inadmissible.
An affidavit from a senior aide stated that officers seized personal documents and electronic devices without lawful authority, causing humiliation, psychological trauma, and distress.
The court has not yet set a date for the hearing.
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