Former Kaduna Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s N1bn fundamental rights suit against the ICPC, police and AGF has been adjourned to October 27, 2026.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned a N1 billion fundamental rights suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
The case, which centres on the search of the former governor’s residence and the alleged seizure of personal items, will now come up for definite hearing on October 27, 2026.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik fixed the new date after granting an application by the Attorney-General of the Federation to regularise a counter-affidavit filed in response to the former governor’s claims.
The application became necessary after counsel representing the AGF, Maimuna Lami-Shiru, informed the court that the respondent had filed a counter-affidavit opposing the suit.
At the resumed proceedings, counsel to el-Rufai, Akinyemi Aremu, told the court that the matter was scheduled for hearing.
However, Lami-Shiru informed the judge that the AGF had filed the necessary process and requested the court’s permission to extend the time within which the counter-affidavit could be deemed properly filed and served.
The request was not challenged by the lawyers representing the other respondents.
Aremu, who appeared for el-Rufai, as well as counsel representing the Inspector-General of Police, ACP Ezekiel Rimamsomte, and the lawyer for the ICPC, did not object to the application.
Justice Abdulmalik consequently granted the request and adjourned the matter until October 27 for definite hearing.
The suit is part of a legal challenge mounted by the former Kaduna governor over actions allegedly taken by law enforcement authorities during a search of his residence.
El-Rufai is asking the court to protect what he considers his fundamental rights and to prevent the respondents, their officials or agents from making use of materials allegedly recovered during the search.
Among the major reliefs sought by the former governor is an order restraining the ICPC, police authorities and other respondents from relying on, using or tendering any of the items or evidence allegedly obtained from his residence.
He wants such materials excluded from any investigation, prosecution or other legal proceedings involving him.
The former governor is also asking the court to order the ICPC and the Inspector-General of Police to return all the items allegedly taken from his residence during the search.
In addition, he wants the agencies to provide a detailed inventory showing the items allegedly seized.
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El-Rufai is also seeking N1 billion in damages, described in the suit as general, exemplary and aggravated damages.
The claim is being opposed by the respondents, who have put forward their own account of the circumstances that led to the search and the subsequent legal dispute.
The ICPC, in its counter-affidavit, maintained that its involvement in the matter followed a petition it received against the former governor.
The anti-corruption commission stated that it commenced an investigation after receiving the petition and that the investigation subsequently resulted in the search of el-Rufai’s residence.
The agency’s position forms part of the issues expected to be considered when the court begins the substantive hearing of the suit.
The dispute therefore places before the court questions concerning the circumstances surrounding the search, the treatment of items allegedly recovered during the exercise and whether such materials can subsequently be relied upon in investigations or legal proceedings involving the former governor.
Another procedural issue arose earlier in the case regarding the identity of one of the parties originally listed as a respondent.
El-Rufai had initially joined the Chief Magistrate of the Magistrates’ Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as a respondent.
However, the former governor subsequently withdrew the name after the court observed that the particular magistrate being sued had not been identified.
The withdrawal narrowed the list of parties directly involved in the fundamental rights action, leaving the ICPC, the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation among the principal respondents.
The latest adjournment means that the court has yet to proceed to the substantive determination of the former governor’s claims.
The October 27 hearing is expected to provide an opportunity for the parties to present their respective positions after the AGF’s counter-affidavit has been properly regularised.
Fundamental rights suits are designed to allow individuals to seek judicial protection where they allege that their rights guaranteed under the Constitution have been violated or are under threat of violation.
In this case, el-Rufai is asking the court not only to address the alleged seizure of his belongings but also to determine whether the respondents should be allowed to use any materials obtained from the disputed search.
The respondents, on the other hand, have opposed the reliefs sought by the former governor, with the ICPC specifically linking the search to an investigation that it said followed a petition against him.
Until the court determines the substantive issues, the competing claims by the former governor and the respondents remain allegations and legal positions presented by the respective parties.
The matter will therefore return before Justice Abdulmalik on October 27, when the Federal High Court is expected to take the case up for definite hearing.