BREAKING: El-Rufai Files N1bn Suit Against ICPC Over Alleged Unlawful Search
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has instituted a ₦1 billion suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), challenging what he described as an unlawful invasion of his Abuja residence.
In the suit, El-Rufai is asking the court to invalidate a search warrant reportedly issued on February 4 by a Chief Magistrate of the Magistrate’s Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which authorised the search and seizure of items at his home.
Through his legal team led by Oluwole Iyamu, SAN, the former governor is seeking a declaration that the warrant was “invalid, null and void.”
He argued that the warrant lacked specificity and contained material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, and was overly broad. According to him, it also failed to establish probable cause, thereby amounting to an unlawful and unreasonable search in breach of Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guarantees the right to privacy.
El-Rufai further prayed the court to declare that any evidence obtained from the search is inadmissible in any proceedings against him, on the grounds that it was procured in violation of constitutional safeguards.
Additionally, he is seeking an order of injunction restraining the ICPC and its agents from relying on or tendering any items seized during the operation in any investigation, prosecution, or related proceedings involving him.
As of the time of filing this report, the ICPC had yet to issue an official response to the suit.