Court adjourns El-Rufai’s N1bn suit against ICPC to June 17
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed June 17 to hear the N1 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, after he dropped the Chief Magistrate from the case.
El-Rufai, who governed Kaduna from 2015 to 2023 and later served as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, challenged the legality of a February 4 search warrant used by the ICPC to raid his Abuja residence, describing it as invalid, vague, and executed without probable cause.
The suit also named the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation as defendants, with El-Rufai seeking declarations that the raid at his Mambilla Street residence on February 19 violated his constitutional rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the Constitution.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik approved the matter for hearing after El-Rufai applied to delist the Chief Magistrate, following the court’s observation that the particular magistrate sued was not properly specified, prompting the former governor’s decision to drop that part of the case.
The case now proceeds against the ICPC and other defendants, with arguments scheduled for mid-June as El-Rufai seeks legal redress for what he claims was an unlawful search and seizure at his home.
