Former Kaduna state governor Nasir el-Rufai has filed a N1 billion suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging the unlawful invasion of his Abuja residence.

In the suit, filed through his legal team led by Oluwole Iyamu, SAN, El-Rufai is asking the court to nullify the search warrant 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 operation at his home.

He is seeking a declaration that the warrant was invalid, null, and void on grounds of lack of particularity, material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, overbreadth, and absence of probable cause. According to him, the warrant amounted to an unlawful and unreasonable search in breach of Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guarantees the right to privacy.

The former governor is also asking the court to rule that any evidence obtained from the search is inadmissible in any proceedings against him, having been procured in violation of constitutional safeguards.

Additionally, el-Rufai is seeking an injunction restraining the ICPC and its agents from relying on or tendering any materials seized during the operation in any investigation or prosecution involving him.

He is demanding N1 billion in damages, broken down as follows: N300 million as compensatory damages for alleged psychological trauma, emotional distress, and loss of personal security; N400 million as exemplary damages to deter what he describes as misconduct by law enforcement agencies; and N300 million as aggravated damages for what he terms the malicious and oppressive execution of a defective warrant.
El-Rufai is also asking for N100 million to cover the cost of filing the suit, including legal fees and associated expenses.