Court Fixes December 2 for Judgment in El-Rufai’s ₦1bn Suit Against ICPC, Police
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has fixed December 2 for judgment in a ₦1bn fundamental rights suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and two other respondents.
Justice Abdulmalik fixed the date after lawyers representing the parties adopted their respective court processes.
When the case was called, El-Rufai’s lawyer was absent. The judge subsequently deemed the processes filed by the former governor adopted.
Counsel for the ICPC, Abdul Mohammed (SAN), identified and adopted the commission’s processes, urging the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
The lawyer representing the Inspector-General of Police, ACP Ezekiel Rimamsomte, and Maimuna Lami-Shiru, Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law, who represented the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), also adopted their respective processes and urged the court to dismiss the suit.
During the proceedings, Ubong Akpan, counsel for the former governor, entered the courtroom and apologised for arriving late.
When Akpan sought the court’s permission to adopt his processes, the judge informed him that they had already been deemed adopted.
Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter until December 2 for judgment.
El-Rufai is seeking ₦1bn in damages from the ICPC, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
He instituted the suit, alleging that operatives of the ICPC and the police violated his fundamental rights during a search of his Abuja residence on February 19.
He asked the court to declare that the search of his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, at about 2pm on February 19 constituted a gross violation of his fundamental rights.
He argued that the search violated his rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy, as guaranteed by Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the Constitution.
He also sought an order directing the first and second respondents, the ICPC and the Inspector-General of Police, respectively, to return immediately all items seized from his residence during the alleged unlawful search, together with a detailed inventory.
In addition, he sought ₦1bn in general, exemplary, and aggravated damages, among other reliefs.
In its counter-affidavit, the ICPC said it had received a petition against El-Rufai and commenced an investigation, which led to the search of his residence.
The commission argued that its operatives acted under a valid search warrant issued on February 18 and executed on February 19 between 1.37pm and 3.56pm at 12 Mambilla Street, Asokoro, Abuja.
It said its officials were accompanied by personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and that the search was witnessed by El-Rufai’s wife, Hadiza El-Rufai, and his son, Mohammed El-Rufai.
The ICPC urged the court to dismiss the suit and listed items it said were recovered from the residence.
In his counter-affidavit, the Inspector-General of Police, through a deposition by Insp. Ewa Anthony, argued that he had statutory powers to detect, arrest, investigate, and prosecute offenders.
He maintained that the search of El-Rufai’s residence was conducted pursuant to a warrant issued by a competent court.
Disputing the former governor’s claim that the warrant was invalid, the Inspector-General insisted that it was a genuine court order.
He further argued that El-Rufai was seeking to use the court to shield himself from security investigations and prosecution.
He urged the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, in a counter-affidavit filed by Lami-Shiru, denied being privy to the facts of the alleged incident.
He argued that the ICPC and the Inspector-General of Police had acted within their statutory powers.
According to him, the items seized from El-Rufai by the first and second respondents were required to enable them to conclude their investigation.
He also argued that the suit constituted an abuse of court process because the former governor had two pending suits on the same subject matter before the FCT High Court.
Maintaining that El-Rufai’s claims lacked legal and evidential justification, the AGF urged the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
