El Rufai Files ₦1 Billion Suit Against ICPC Over Abuja Home Invasion

Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El Rufai has filed a ₦1 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ICPC and other parties, accusing them of using an invalid warrant to search his Abuja home.

In the case marked FHC ABJ CS 345 2026, El Rufai, through his lawyers led by Oluwole Iyamu SAN, is asking the Federal High Court to declare that the search warrant issued on February 4 by a Chief Magistrate in the FCT was invalid, null and void. 

He argues the warrant lacked clear details, contained serious drafting errors, and was so broad and ambiguous that it amounted to an unlawful intrusion under Section 37 of the Constitution, which protects privacy.

El Rufai listed ICPC as the first respondent, while the Chief Magistrate of the FCT Magistrate Court the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of the Federation were named as the second to fourth respondents. 

He is also challenging the search carried out at his residence on February 19, saying the operation violated his rights to dignity, liberty, fair hearing and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the Constitution.

Among the reliefs sought, El Rufai wants the court to rule that any material obtained from the search is inadmissible and should not be used in any investigation or proceeding against him. He also asked for an order compelling ICPC and the police to return all seized items alongside a detailed inventory.

He is demanding ₦1 billion in damages, broken down into ₦300 million for emotional distress, ₦400 million for exemplary damages to deter future misconduct, and ₦300 million for aggravated damages for what he describes as high-handed conduct. He is also seeking ₦100 million for legal costs.

In an affidavit supporting the suit, a principal secretary to El Rufai, Mohammed Shaba, claimed officers searched the premises under a defective warrant, seized documents and electronic devices, and did not follow the required legal procedure before the search.