Nasir El-Rufai, the former Governor of Kaduna State, has initiated a legal battle against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), filing a ₦1 billion fundamental rights lawsuit following a raid on his Abuja home.
Represented by Oluwole Iyamu, SAN, El-Rufai is challenging a search warrant issued on February 4, 2026, by an FCT Chief Magistrate, naming the ICPC, the Chief Magistrate, the Inspector-General of Police (I-G), and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as respondents.
In the suit filed on February 20, El-Rufai is seeking seven distinct reliefs, primarily asking the court to void the search warrant used on February 19.
His legal team argues the warrant was “null and void for lack of particularity, material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, overbreadth, and absence of probable cause thereby constituting an unlawful and unreasonable search in violation of Section 37 of the Constitution.”
El-Rufai claims the 2 p.m. invasion of his residence at Aso Drive was a “gross violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the Constitution.”
Consequently, he is asking the court to rule that “any evidence obtained pursuant to the aforesaid invalid warrant and unlawful search is inadmissible in any proceedings against the applicant, as it was procured in breach of constitutional safeguards.”
The former governor is demanding the immediate return of all seized documents and devices, along with an injunction to stop the government from using them.
The ₦1 billion in damages is broken down as follows:
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₦300 million for compensatory damages related to “psychological trauma, emotional distress, and loss of personal security.”
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₦400 million in exemplary damages to discourage future law enforcement misconduct.
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₦300 million in aggravated damages for the “malicious, high-handed and oppressive nature of the respondents’ actions.”
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₦100 million to cover legal fees and filing costs.
Iyamu, SAN, argued that the warrant was riddled with “material typographical errors” and lacked a specific description of what was being searched for, noting it vaguely referred to “the thing aforesaid” without detail.
He further contended that the warrant was addressed indiscriminately to “all officers,” making it unaccountable and overbroad.
Supporting the suit, El-Rufai’s Principal Secretary, Mohammed Shaba, stated in an affidavit that the officers failed to submit themselves to a search before entering the premises and that the “search warrant did not specify the properties or items being searched for.”
Shaba added that the invasion caused the former governor “undue humiliation, psychological trauma, and distress,” and confirmed that none of the carted-away items, documented in “Exhibit B,” have been returned.
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