El-Rufai sues ICPC, others for N1bn over alleged illegal home search

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, alleging an unlawful invasion of his Abuja residence.

In the suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, El-Rufai is asking the court to declare that the search warrant used to enter his home was invalid.

He described the warrant as “null and void for lack of particularity, material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, overbreadth, and absence of probable cause.”

The former governor said officers from the ICPC and the Nigeria Police searched his house at No. 12 Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on February 19 around 2 p.m.

He claimed the operation violated his constitutional rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy.

He is asking the court to rule that any evidence obtained during the search cannot be used against him in any investigation or trial because it was gathered unlawfully.

He also seeks an order compelling the ICPC and the Inspector-General of Police to immediately return all items taken from his home, along with a detailed inventory.

El-Rufai is demanding N1 billion in damages.

According to court documents, this includes: “N300 million for psychological trauma, emotional distress, and loss of personal security”; “N400 million as exemplary damages to deter future misconduct by law enforcement agencies”; and “N300 million as aggravated damages” for what he described as the “malicious, high-handed and oppressive nature of the operation.”

He is also seeking N100 million to cover legal costs.

His lawyer argued that the warrant did not clearly state what items were to be seized and contained errors in the address, date, and district details. He said it failed to meet the requirements of the law, rendering the entire search illegal.

The lawyer added that “evidence obtained without a valid warrant is unlawful and inadmissible.”

In an affidavit, a senior aide to El-Rufai said officers searched the house without lawful authority, seized personal documents and electronic devices, and caused undue humiliation, psychological trauma, and distress.

The court has yet to fix a date for hearing the case.