Lateef Fagbemi, the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to throw out a fundamental rights enforcement suit instituted by former Kaduna governor, Nasir el-Rufai, against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
At Monday’s proceedings, the AGF, represented by Maimuna Lami-Shiru of the Federal Ministry of Justice, told the court that he had submitted a counter-affidavit opposing el-Rufai’s case.
In the document, Fagbemi maintained that the ICPC and the inspector-general of police (IGP), listed as respondents in the suit, acted lawfully when they conducted a search of el-Rufai’s residence.
The AGF further contended that the case amounted to an abuse of judicial process, arguing that the former governor already has two pending cases concerning the same matter before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.
Fagbemi also said el-Rufai had not established any reasonable cause of action to justify the reliefs being requested from the court.
According to the minister, the items taken from the former governor’s residence were required to enable investigators to conclude their probe.
He therefore urged the court to dismiss the suit.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, who presided over the proceedings, adjourned the case until October 27 to give el-Rufai’s legal team time to respond to the AGF’s counter-affidavit.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, el-Rufai asked the court to declare that the search warrant dated February 4 and issued by an FCT magistrate, which authorised the search and seizure of items from his residence, was “invalid, null, and void”.
The former governor also asked the court to rule that the warrant was legally defective because of “material drafting errors and ambiguity in execution parameters”.
El-Rufai argued that the entry and search of his Aso Drive residence in Abuja, carried out under the “invalid” warrant, constituted a “gross violation” of his fundamental human rights.
He further requested an order compelling the ICPC and the IGP to return all property seized from his Abuja residence during what he described as an “unlawful” search.
The former governor is also seeking N1 billion in compensation as “general, exemplary, and aggravated damages”.
