The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a N1bn fundamental rights suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over the search of his Abuja residence by operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
Fagbemi, through counsel from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Maimuna Lami-Shiru, urged Justice Joyce Abdulmalik to dismiss the suit, arguing that El-Rufai had failed to establish a reasonable cause of action.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, was filed against the ICPC and the Inspector-General of Police. The Chief Magistrate of the Federal Capital Territory Magistrate’s Court, who was initially listed as a respondent, was later removed from the case.
El-Rufai instituted the suit over the search of his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on February 19, 2026.
He is asking the court to declare the search warrant, dated February 18 and issued by a Chief Magistrate, invalid and void.
The former governor argues that the warrant was defective because of alleged drafting errors, ambiguity in its execution parameters, overbreadth and an alleged absence of probable cause.
He also contends that the search and seizure violated his constitutional rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the Constitution.
At Monday’s proceedings, Fagbemi informed the court that he had filed a counter-affidavit challenging the suit.
The AGF denied that El-Rufai’s rights were violated and maintained that the ICPC and police acted within the law during the search. He consequently asked the court to dismiss the case.
The ICPC had earlier filed its own counter-affidavit seeking dismissal of the suit. The commission said the search was conducted as part of an investigation into a petition against El-Rufai and that its operatives acted under a valid warrant issued by a competent court.
The police also defended the operation, maintaining that its officers lawfully executed the court-issued warrant.
El-Rufai is seeking N1bn in damages over the alleged violation of his fundamental rights. He is asking for N300m in compensatory damages, N400m in exemplary damages and N300m in aggravated damages. He is also seeking N100m as the cost of the litigation.
In addition, he wants the court to bar the respondents from using or tendering any items recovered during the search and to order the return of the seized property with a detailed inventory.
The items listed by the ICPC include electronic storage devices, mobile phones, flash drives, a MicroSD card, a reMarkable tablet and an Apple MacBook Pro.
The commission obtained court permission on March 12 to examine and analyse about 14 electronic devices allegedly recovered during the search.
Justice Abdulmalik has adjourned the case until October 27 to allow El-Rufai’s lawyer, Akinyemi Aremu, to respond to the AGF’s counter-affidavit.
The court has not yet determined whether the search warrant was valid or whether El-Rufai’s fundamental rights were violated.
